Runt of the Litter
by ARandomInterloper
Summary: The story of an Octoling's long, desperate struggle to become an Elite.
1. Chapter 1

**It's no surprise I like writing this character. I've had characters, including the star of this side story herself, reference her backstory, but I figured it'd be fun to delve a little deeper. Be prepared for some angst and bad character decisions.**

 **Runt of the Litter**

Chapter 1

 **Waking up…Age 12**

I can't see anything…it's…dark…wait, I just have my eyes closed…

I barely open them to see I'm floating in a tank.

What's this green goop on me? Oh well…

A square piece of class is lowered in. It's a girl. She has red hair, blue eyes, somewhat pale skin…Oh, this is me.

"Alright…she can recognize herself." A voice said. "She's ready. Let her out."

Suddenly the tube drained. I was then lying on the bottom.

"Stand up please." The voice said. I could see him now. He was an Octoling like me, but he wore a lab coat. Must be a scientist.

I stood up. Then soapy water came showering down, washing off the goop that still clung to me, then a rinse cycle, then air blew in, drying me. The glass then came down and I was asked to step out. Two Octotroopers came in and clothed me.

"Alright…Group Member Number 008…Cassandra." The scientist said. "Your name will be Cassandra."

"Okay." That name sounds nice.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Honestly, I feel a little tired." I yawned. "Can I go back in the Tube?"

"Go back?!" Another voice said. It came from a group of female Octolings. "We've been waiting a week for you to come out!"

"A week?" I was surprised.

"Yes, your development slowed a bit because there was a small glitch. Nothing to worry about, I'm sure." He assured me. "Besides, you can't be an Elite one day if you sleep in the tubes."

"Well, can't you wake me up when I'm an Elite?" I asked.

The group of Octolings started snickering at my comment.

"Okay, I take it back. I like her." One said.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"These are the subjects who came out of the same Tube you did." The scientist told me. "They'll be your sisters."

"Sisters?" I was surprised to hear. "Awesome! What are your names?"

"I'm Clair." One said. "This is Chloe, Catherine, Carly, Carla, Casey, and Cynthia. Well, it's nice to finally meet you."

I walked over to them and they greeted me with hugs.

"Your batch will be called…C-Group." The scientist told us. "Easy since your names all start with C."

"That's dumb." Clair commented.

"Alright, now you're to be deployed to basic training." He told us.

Some Octotroopers came out to lead us to basic training. We started following them.

"So you think we'll become Elites?" Chloe asked.

"For Sure!" I boasted. "After all, we were created to be the best soldiers we can be. And we will be the best! All of us!"

"Yeah!" Catherine agreed. "We'll be Elites! All of us!"

 **Later…**

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

We were given told to punch the air every time the instructor gave us the signal. I guess hand-to-hand combat would be important sometimes, but is there a point when the ground is covered in either our or enemy ink the majority of the time? It's not like both sides run out of ink for very long anyway…oh well. If this is what it takes to become an Elite, then so be it. I'll do whatever it takes!

"All right, take five." The instructor told us.

"So what fields do you think we'll excel at?" Casey asked.

"What do you mean?" I wondered.

"Like, sharpshooting, hand-to-hand, close quarters splatting, etc." She listed.

"Well, hand-to-hand looks interesting." Catherine said. "Maybe I'll excel in that.

"If we're going to be Elites, shouldn't we be the best in everything?" I pointed out.

"That's not untrue." Clair remarked.

"That's my Clair!" I pulled her in.

"Your Clair?" Carly tilted her head. "You aren't an older sister, we're the same age. If anything, you're the little sister."

"What?!" I was surprised by that suggestion.

"Well, you did come out last." Carla pointed out. "Also, Clair did take charge more often in the week we were waiting for you."

"Hey, it ain't my fault there was a glitch in the system!" I defended myself.

"She's right." Clair agreed with me. "Don't fault her for something she couldn't control."

"Thank you." I nodded my head.

"Hey, anything for my little Cassie!" She smiled.

"I'm really going to be the little sister, aren't I?" I groaned.

"Yup!" Chloe snickered.

"Eh, whatev's." I shrugged. "That just means I'm the adorable one."

"That's the spirit!" Catherine applauded me.

"So adorable!" A giddy voice behind us said.

We turned to find a black-haired Elite with an eyepatch.

"What?" Her attitude completely changed to a more edgy one.

"And you are?" I asked.

"Lieutenant Sasha." She introduced herself. "And if you want to become Elites, you have a long way to go."

"How so?" I asked.

"Dodge!" She immediately pulled out an Octoshot and began firing at us.

I managed to dodge a few of those shots, but I mostly got hit.

"If that were enemy ink, you'd be dead, Private." She coldly said.

"Why are you singling me out?" I was confused.

"Because you were the only one who got hit." She pointed out.

She was right. I turned to find the others managed to dodge all the shots.

"N-no fair!" I pouted. "I was much closer."

"Doesn't matter." The instructor came back. "Either way, you'd be dead."

"Laaaaame." I groaned.

"It's okay; we'll wait for you to get cleaned up." Clair told me.

"Oh no, you won't!" The instructor told us. "Drop and give me 20! All of you!"

We immediately started doing pushups. Best not to make these two angry.

 **Two Months Later…**

"Go! Go! Go!" Our instructor wanted us to hustle throughout the obstacle course. "This is your final test before you rank up! Move like you've got a purpose!"

We hurried through the obstacle course, which wasn't easy. Ink kept flying at us as we had to dodge large, spinning rollers, and Flooders. What didn't help though was my sisters seemed to almost be breezing through it while I kept getting hit by ink shots and almost got splatted a few times.

"Great work, Catherine!" The instructor applauded her when she made it to the final platform. "Stunning work, Chloe!"

Almost there…almost there…Alright! The final jump! I flew through the air, the finish line within my reach and I stopped going forward. I started falling downwards. I didn't make it. My gear splatted me before I could fall to my death.

"AAAAAaaagh!" The respawn was slow and painful. "Ugh…"

Finally it ended.

"Failure." The instructor shook her head. "Absolute failure."

She walked away.

"You alright?" Catherine asked me.

"That…was awful…" I replied.

"How'd you fail?" Casey asked.

"I…I don't know…" I wasn't sure. "I-It was just a fluke. I'll get it next time."

"Yeah." Clair looked me in the eye. "Don't give up. One day, we'll all be Elites."

I nodded, determined.

 **One Month Later…**

"Test Failed." The instructor said. "Again."

"Geez." Carla said. "It shouldn't be that hard."

"I know, right?" Carly agreed. "How many times is she going to fail the course?"

"Again!" I shouted. "I want to go again!"

"Sorry, but that's it for today." The instructor told me. "Can't waste power.

"Y-you'll get it eventually." Clair said. "I'm sure."

"I know I will!" I assured her. "One more time!"

"Five minutes until lights out." The instructor told me.

"I can do it!" I told her.

"…Fine." She reluctantly agreed. "But if you don't make it within the time limit, you could die."

"I can do it!" I shouted.

"Then go!" She pointed me to the starting line.

I hurried over and begun the test again.

I had most of it memorized now. It was just the last bit that had me messed up.

Alright…dodging the ink and dodging the rollers. Soon enough it was the final few jumps. At that point, the power for the course cut out. I was a little hesitant.

"It's do or die, private!" The instructor at the finish line told me.

"You can do it!" Clair said, standing next to her.

I got to the final jump. I readied and leapt through the air. Closer…closer…Yes! I touched down at the very edge of the finishing platform and…I started losing my balance. I was falling backwards. Clair caught me at the last second.

"Failure." The instructor said.

"No, she passed." Clair said. "She landed on the platform. That means she passed. Losing her balance happened afterwards and doesn't count."

"…Fine, pass." The instructor reluctantly agreed.

I was walking over with Clair before the instructor stopped me.

"Just know this, rookie." She said. "If it weren't for your sister, you would've died…a failure."

I just ignored her and caught up with Clair.

"I passed, didn't I?" I asked. "I lost my balance. So what? What was her problem?"

"She has a point though." Clair agreed with her? "You would've died had I not stepped in. If you're going to be an Elite, you're going to have to learn to pass without us around to help you."

"Geez, Clair." I was surprised by her tone. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing." She told me. "I'm just trying to help you."

"You've got a funny way of showing it…" I mumbled.

"Because it took you a month." Clair heard me. "We slowed our training down to give you a chance to catch up. What's going on?""

"You think I know?" I looked at her. "I have no idea why you breezed through it while I had so much trouble."

"Well, figure it out." She told me. "We can't wait on you forever."

"Love you too, sis..." I groaned.

"Cass," She stopped me. "I don't hate you. I'm sure the others don't either. We're just concerned and a little frustrated."

"I'll get better." I assured her. "A small fluke won't stop me. I'll be an Elite one day…count on it."

We walked back to the barracks for some rest. The pods may be comfy, but they're cramped. Well, I'll get a room when I'm an Elite anyway, so I can tough it out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **Author's note: All three updated in one day?! Well, like I said in an earlier chapter from another story, I'll tend to post another chapter of a story if it gets another follower (and mention the follower in the chapter), and I just got someone who's following two of my other stories. It's an agreement I may or may not regret in the future depending on how many chapters of stories and side-stories I have finished at the time, but for now, I will hold myself to it. Thanks EnderKitty68 for following the story and here's the new chapter for you and all the other readers.**

 **Training Grounds…Age 13**

More training…Splat it, I'm still in Basic ranking while my sisters are already in Intermediate. At this rate, they'll be Elites long by the time I become Advanced. Maybe they'll be Elites before then…Splat it! Why am I having so much trouble ranking up?!

Ugh…and now I'm practicing hand-to-hand combat with Catherine…again…maybe this time, I'll finally-

 ***Thump***

"Ow…" I lied flat on the ground.

"Come on, Cass." Catherine pulled me up. "Again."

I threw punches which she blocked…of course she did…I then tried different kicks, but she just grabbed my leg and flipped me around, causing me to fall on the floor again.

"Are you even trying?" Cathy asked.

"Yes!" I replied.

"Then show me!" She readied her stance again.

I tried beating her again, but the same thing happened.

"All right, lunchtime." She told me. "We'll continue another time."

And I'll win next time.

For now though, I'm starving…

 **The Mess Hall…**

I got the regular rations. This is the only food I've ever had and I still think it sucks. I wonder if I were a natural, I'd at least get better meals.

Whatever…I just went to find a table. It was crowded, but there was a seat next to my sisters. They were having a conversation about something, but I honestly didn't care…

"You okay, Cass?" Clair asked. "You've been silent this whole time."

"What do you think?" I gave her a look. "You guys are excelling while I suck at everything."

"You don't suck at everything, I'm sure." Clair assured me. "You're probably just a late bloomer or something."

"Maybe…" That could be it.

"Maybe all the skill she was supposed to get went into you guys." An Octobomber at the table next to us suggested. "That could explain it."

"You wanna say that to my face?" I glared at him.

"I would, but it's crowded in here." He replied.

"You're just scared because you know I can kick your ass." I told him.

"Cass, he's an Octobomber." Catherine sad. "They aren't known for melee fighting."

"And that's why he's scared." I told her.

"Cass, that may be true, but beating up an Octobomber won't impress anyone." Catherine told me.

"It'd shut him up though…" I mumbled.

Catherine just looked at me with an unimpressed look.

"What?" I glared at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She just got up, having already finished her meal, and left.

"What's her problem?" I groaned.

"Cassie…" Clair facepalmed.

"You know," Chloe joined the conversation. "I heard that when animals have a litter of babies, there's usually one that's smaller and weaker than the others called the runt."

"What are you saying?" I glared at her.

"Maybe you're the runt." She suggested. It would explain why you're so…"

"What?!" I stood up.

"Well, your combat skills have been lacking, your accuracy is always off, and it took you a long time to get through the training courses…" She listed.

"I am not 'the runt'!" I shouted.

"Okay, geez." She seemed to want to calm me down. She failed miserably.

"Mark my words, Chloe," I pointed at her. "One day, I will be an Elite!"

"Keep trying and maybe you will." Clair shrugged. "One day…"

 **Training Grounds…Age 14**

I'm still Basic ranked. A higher level now, but still Basic. Come on, most Octolings my age are at least Intermediate by now.

I was in combat with training with Catherine yet again. Now they're all Advanced ranked, training recruits now. Her hair is a beautiful violet. Much better than this stupid red hair I have. I want it to change already. I swear she's just using me as a training dummy at this point. I'm already on the ground again.

"You lose again, Cass." She said.

"What else is new?" I rolled my eyes.

"Are you even trying?" She tilted an eye.

"Don't talk to me." I groaned. "It's lunchtime now, I'm gonna go eat."

I walked off. I'm getting real tired of her. 'Are you even trying?' Well, sorry not all of us are born perfect!

I just got my food as usual…I didn't sit near my sisters though…just somewhere random.

"Why do you even try?" An Octoling across from me asked. "You can't beat them; you can barely rank up, just give up."

"I can't give up." I told him. "What would I even do, anyway?"

"You can work in Sanitation." He suggested. "We could use more trash collectors."

"I'm not a garbage lady." I hissed.

"Well, if your skills are anything to go off of…" He smirked.

"You wanna go?!" I growled. "We can go right now if you want to!"

"You wanna get humiliated, I suggest fighting your sister again." He said so smugly.

"I'll beat her one of these days" I shouted. "One day I'll win!"

"Sure you will…" He rolled his eyes as he left. "Worthless runt…"

Damn it, I'm not a worthless runt! I can beat her…I can win…I will win!

 **Training Grounds…**

I had to win. To show them all I can do it. I'm worth something. I'll be an Elite one day.

I readied a combat stance to spar with Catherine again. Alright Cass, give it your all.

I quickly jabbed at her. She parried me. I did another quick jab followed by a kick. She went to grab my leg, but I pulled back just in time. I went for another jab. She grabbed my fist. I quickly spun to kick her, but she quickly sweeped my leg out and I slammed down on the ground.

Damn it…

"You lose again Cass." Catherine said. "…Big shock there…runt…"

You…you little…

She held out her hand to help me up.

Seriously? You blatantly insult me, and then have the nerve to hold your hand out to me?

I grabbed it…then decked her in her ugly face. I think I broke her nose or something because it was bleeding as she fell over.

I quickly jumped on top of her and started pounding her face. Yes! Finally! I win! I win!

I suddenly felt two people pull me away by the arms. It was Carly and Carla. They held me still.

"What is wrong with you?!" Clair shouted.

"I win!" I shouted. "Look at her! She's a bleeding mess! I won! For once, I finally won!"

"You won…?" Catherine got up. She looked pissed.

"Yeah!" I replied.

"You cheated…" She coldly said. "You couldn't beat me, so you cheated…"

"What matters is I finally won!" I told her.

"You feel like a winner, huh?" She walked over. "How about now?!"

 ***Thwak!*** She grabbed my shoulder and punched my stomach.

I coughed.

 ***Thwak***

 ***Thwak***

"You feel like a winner now?!" She shouted before punching my gut again.

 ***Thwak***

 ***Thwak***

 ***Thwak***

I threw up.

"Admit you lost and this'll stop…" She told me.

I said nothing.

She just gave me a cold stare before punching me again.

 ***Thwak***

 ***Thwak***

 ***Thwak***

 ***Thwak***

I started coughing up blood.

 ***Thwak***

I started feeling woozy…

 ***Thwak***

 ***Thwak***

 ***Thwak***

"That's enough!" Clair stopped her.

"Why?" Catherine sounded confused.

"Look at her." Clair said. "I don't think she could admit defeat even if she wanted to.

"…Fine…" Cathy reluctantly agreed. "Let her go."

Carly and Carly released me. I fell right on top of the puddle I made.

"Just give up already." Catherine told me. "This won't get you anywhere."

I didn't respond. I could barely even move. My vision was blurring.

The others left while Clair stayed behind.

"When you're able to walk again," Clair crouched over me. "Clean this up, take a shower, and then apologize to Catherine."

I lost consciousness.

 **2 Hours Later…**

My vision came back to me and I got up. I felt sore. I managed to get up and slowly went to get cleaning supplies. I could see some troops around watching me as I walked. Some I could tell were making comments, but I just ignored them. Soon enough I got the mess cleaned up and headed towards the showers.

It may get cold in the domes sometimes, but at least the communal showers are warm…

"Geez," now that the stains were off, I could see my abdomen had one large bruise on it. "I may need to go to the doctor…Thanks, Cathy…"

"What happened?" I could see it was Lieutenant Sasha. Weird…there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her eye other than being off-color.

"I..uh…made Catherine mad…" I explained.

"Nooooo!" She whined, acting completely different than her usual hardened demeanor.

"What?" I was a little confused.

"You were so adorable and she ruined you!" She seemed panicked.

"You okay, Lieutenant?" I asked. "You're acting…weird…"

I looked over to see another Octoling who looked right at me. He mouthed out: "Run…"

"Are you okay? Do you need me to put some ointment on it?! Do you need me to kiss it better?!" She was really creeping me out.

I immediately bolted out of there. The other Octoling did too. We ran into one of the storage closets before she could see us.

"Where'd you go?!" She shouted. "Where did…"

There was a short pause.

"…What just happened?" Her edgy-sounding voice was back. We then heard her footsteps as she left.

"I think she's gone…" The Octoling said.

"What was that?!" I needed an answer.

"Lieutenant Sasha has split personality disorder." He explained as he opened the door and I followed him back to the changing room. "One is a cold, hardened soldier while the other one is…very affectionate…too affectionate…It tends to come out when the eyepatch comes off."

"Why?" I wondered as I got clothed...wait…getting a good look at him now, I just realized he was missing an arm…

"Well, it wasn't always that bad, that's for sure." He said. "It seems to be the result of some brain experiments done a while ago. She now experiences frequent headaches and flips between her personalities. She may shoot you if she hates you, while some will tell you it's worse when she likes you…"

"I'm just going to avoid her." I told him. "Who are you anyway?"

"Corporal Yan Octavian Traeger." He introduced himself as he put a fake arm on. "And you look like you need to go to a doctor.

"Yeah…" I held my gut, still feeling a little sore.

"A piece of advice." He said as he turned to leave. "Avoid the one with the red eyes."

He walked out of the room.

The shell does that mean…?


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks TDPIvy for following two of my stories. I'll need to make more chapters though if the rate of followers increases to meet the standards I've set for myself. Don't worry though, if there's something I know I can do, it's add more to my stories in decent time because I just like writing these.**

Chapter 3

 **Shortly after…**

"Well, you don't have anything serious." The green-eyed doctor informed me. "Just put this on and wrap around it. You'll get to sleep easier. If it's still sore in the morning, come to me for another pack."

He handed me some gauze and an ice pack. I put it on, wrapped the gauze around, and went back to the pods. I actually managed to fall asleep.

 **The Next Morning…**

The wake-up call sounded and we were off to breakfast. I still felt sore, so I went to get another ice-pack first.

When I got to the mess hall, I found I was right behind Clair in the food line. When she noticed I was behind her, she looked down at the wrappings before turning back around.

Got nothing to say, Clair?

…Octo I wish I had violet hair already…I hate this stupid red hair…

We soon got our food. Clair noticed me walking in a different direction.

"You aren't going to sit next to us?" She asked.

"I haven't sat next to you in weeks." I told her.

"Do you want to?" She invited me.

"Why would I do that?" I gave her a cold look.

"Well, we are sisters." She stated.

"You just need someone pathetic around to make yourselves look better, don't you?" I guessed. "I mean, why else would you want me there?"

"No…" She sighed. "That's not-"

"I might as well…" I interrupted her. "Guess that's the only thing I'm good for…"

I made my way to where the others were sitting as Clair followed me. I sat down next to Chloe and Clair sat across from us, next to Catherine.

I started eating. The food wasn't exactly sitting well.

"So," Clair said. "Is there anything you'd like to say to Catherine?"

Oh, so that's why you invited me…of course it wasn't because you actually wanted me around…

"…I…" I guess I have to. "I'm sorry…"

"Kay." She flatly said before taking a bite of her meal.

"…Well?" I was waiting.

"Well what?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to apologize too?" I wondered.

"For what?" She asked.

"This!" I stood up to show my bandages.

"You acted out of line and I disciplined you properly for it." She shrugged it off. "Nothing personal."

"Nothing personal?!" Did she seriously say that? "I saw you! You were mad! You liked doing that to me! You would've kept going if Clair hadn't stopped you!"

"I would've stopped." She stated.

"When?" I crossed my arms. "After I puked up more blood? After I lost consciousness? After I died?!"

"When it seemed reasonable." She answered.

"I take it back." I went back to my food and took a bite. "I gave you what you deserved."

"Cass, no one deserved to get hurt." Clair said.

"Except me, apparently…" I responded.

"Cassie," Clair sighed. "That's not what I-"

"I don't know why I even came here." I took another bite. I started feeling sore again.

"Because you needed to apologize." Clair stated.

"Who are you to tell me what I need?" I glared at her. "You-"

I got cut off by my food coming back up. I threw up on the floor.

"Woah!" Cynthia shouted as she looked over.

I coughed a little bit of blood again after vomiting.

"I think I need to see the doctor again…" I got up to leave, but ended up passing out again.

 **Sometime Later…**

I woke up in the medical wing. I noticed I had stitches.

"What happened…?" I looked around.

"That doctor you went to was a complete incompetent." This doctor answered. "He's currently being disciplined for his actions."

"Oh, uh, okay…" At least he's not getting off lightly. "So what do I do now?"

"For now, you rest." He said. "No activity for the next two days."

"Kay…" I guess that's fair. "Hey, Doc."

"Yes?" He got closer.

I noticed he had red eyes. They had a slight glow to them.

"Wh-Who brought me here?" I asked.

"Two Octotroopers were told to bring you here." He told me.

"Oh." Of course they wouldn't carry me themselves. "Um…and what's your name?"

"I'm Dr. Murdock Anea." He introduced himself.

A last name…so he's a natural…

Then I noticed a small red Octoling. She was all red, so she wasn't fully formed yet.

"You gonna dissect her, daddy?" She asked.

Dissect me?!

"No, Elise." He told her. "Dissection is when the subject is already deceased. If I were to operate on her for research while she's still alive, it'd be a vivisection."

"You…aren't going to do that…right?" I wanted to be sure.

"No." Oh thank Octo. "I was assigned to fix you up. I save my personal projects for my personal time and I'm already working on a few."

Personal projects?

"Well, I guess I'll rest here then…" I sighed.

"How did you get injured, anyway?" He asked.

"I was beaten up for…cheating…" I admitted.

"Interesting…and why did you cheat?" He seemed curious.

"Because I got sick of losing." I told him. "No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to improve at all."

"Interesting…" He seemed in thought. "Well, I might do some research into that. For now, get some rest."

"Okay…" Some rest sounds good.

 **Two Days Later…**

Two days passed and I got the stitches out. Of course my sisters didn't bother to check on me while I was in the infirmary. They have better things to do, I guess…

I was back at the training grounds. I decided to shoot targets. Hand-to-hand training doesn't seem like it'd be good for now. I saw Clair was practicing her marksmanship as well. She noticed me as I got the Octoshot and started firing down the range.

"You seemed to have healed up well." She remarked.

"Like you care." I groaned. "You never visited me at all."

"We're beginning our Elite Training." She informed me. It doesn't leave us with much time on our hands.

"Of course you're in Elite training..." I rolled my eyes.

"Cass, I think it may be time to call it quits." She said. "If you're only now starting to near Intermediate, I doubt you'll become an Elite soon."

"I will be an Elite!" I stated.

"Yeah, yeah." She sighed. "You always say that."

"…Maybe if I do something impressive, they'll rank me up faster…" I pondered.

"Cass, you'd have to do something extremely impressive accomplishments to convince them to rank you up." She informed me. "And not to be rude, but you aren't exactly impressive."

"Wow." I was actually surprised. "You actually came out and said it. You finally admitted that I suck."

"I don't know what's going on with you." She said. "Either this is an elaborate prank and you aren't giving it your all, or there's actually something wrong with you."

"Yeah there's something wrong with me." I agreed. "I can't seem to do anything right and my awful sisters are no help at all."

"Cass, you know we try." She stated. "We've tried practicing with you, but it's not working."

"Maybe you're just awful at training people." I suggested. "Maybe that's the one thing you guys are terrible at."

"Cass, we've been training other people." She told me. "It's just you. I'm asking you to stop embarrassing yourself."

"I'm embarrassing you!" I snapped. "You don't actually care about me! You just want me to quit because to you, C-Group is full of promising soldiers except for that one who makes the others look bad! The one who can't rank up! The one who's stuck with these ugly red tentacles! I hate them! I want to change them, but I can't! I'd change their color or shave them off if I was allowed, but I can't! I can't! I-"

"Cassie!" She stopped me. She seemed surprised by my outburst.

"…Just leave me alone…I still feel a little sore. I'm going to bed." I brushed her off and went back to the barracks. "I'll rank up. I just gotta think of something…something to impress the higher ups…"

I lied in bed, clutching my plushie.

"Oh, Octo Samurai plushie, at least you don't talk shit about me." I held it tightly. "I wonder if the real you is just as cuddly..."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **Age 15**

I was sitting on a bench next to my sisters. I was reading my textbook while they chatted it up.

"Did you hear that a dome collapsed the other day?" Cynthia asked Carla. "Octo, I hope the DJ does something soon. We could be next!"

"…What are you reading, anyway?" Carla asked me.

"Woomy, novi-shu." I replied. "Shre-pai-shu."

"…What?" Carla had no idea what I said.

"I thought that if I become fluent in Inklish, I may get ranked up as an Elite…translator or something." I explained.

"…You…do know that they already have bilingual Octoling translators, right?" Carla told me. "They're called Naturals. Becoming a field translator is an occupation exclusive to them."

"W-well, those Naturals can't be in every military operation." I defended my decision. "We outnumber them 3-1. Besides, now I can insult you in a different language."

"Wow, impressive." She slow-clapped. "You can say something that the other person can assume is just gibberish."

Wow…cold...

"I actually heard the other settlements have been making the Inkling language more common than Octarian language." Cynthia told us. "That means what she's doing is completely pointless!"

"Shut up!" I scooted away from her. "I'm actually starting to get good at something still you insult me."

"Hey Carly!" Carla turned her head. "If we took Inklish lessons, how long do you think it'd be till we're more fluent than Cass? A week? Two?"

I so badly wanted to punch her right now.

"Hey, at least it's a better plan than that Inkzooka stunt." Clair said.

"It could've worked." I told her.

"You almost splatted Lieutenant Sasha." Clair reminded me. "I don't think it could've worked.

"I'd probably be doing people a favor…" I mumbled.

The bell that ended break-time sounded.

As the others got up, I stuck out my foot, tripping Carla.

"Ow!" She faceplanted on the ground.

"Careful, Carla." I smirked as I casually got up and walked off.

Unfortunately, I can never win. Carla pushed me over, grabbed my legs, and started dragging me. I tried transforming to escape, but she just ended up grabbing me again.

"Where are you taking me?!" I demanded an answer.

"If you're gonna be a little turd, then I should put you where you belong." She smugly said. "Unfortunately I can't flush you down the toilet, so the trash chute should do."

No…

"Let me go!" I howled. "Clair!"

"There are consequences for your actions, Cassie." She stated. "Take your punishment."

Cynthia opened the trash chute as Carla was about to throw me in.

"I hate all of you!" I yelled.

Carla then threw me in. I cursed the entire slide down.

 **5 minutes Later…**

I stormed out of sanitation. I guess I'll need another shower. I'm so….Gaaah! I hate them! Octo, I need to hit something …I was stomping down the hallway when someone bumped into me.

"S-sorry…" It was some random recruit that looked sad.

"Watch where you're going!" I shouted.

"S-sorry!" He looked like he was about to cry.

"You're seriously crying?" I raised an eyebrow. "I go through shit every day and you don't see me crying!"

"B-but I just" He kept sniffling. "I just lost-"

I grabbed him and decked him in the face.

"W-why?!" Tears finally came out.

"Shut up!" I kicked his stupid face. "You're nothing! Got it?!"

"Why are you-" He got cut off when I punched him in the gut.

"You aren't going to defend yourself?" I tilted my head. "That's fine. That just means I get to enjoy myself longer!"

I punched him to the ground and started beating him. After about a minute, I finally stopped and got up.

"Noooooo!" A familiar voice shrieked. It was Lieutenant Sasha.

She rushed over to him.

"What happened?!" She asked me.

"I'm not sure, Lieutenant." I lied. "I came over here and found him like this. I was about to get help when you showed up."

"You poor baby." She brushed his tentacles. "Don't worry…I know a good doctor. We'll take good care of you…"

She carried him off. I didn't at all feel sorry for him. You piss me off, you get what you deserve. I was a bit surprised by how much I beat him though…

 ***Sniff* *Sniff***

Now for a shower…

 **Age 16**

I walked down the hallway and saw Catherine. Now she and my other sisters all had the black hair of Elites.

"I saw that." She narrowed her eyes.

"Saw what?" I asked.

"You beat up another recruit." She told me.

"You have any proof of what you claim?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No…" She admitted. "But only because hiding your actions seems to be something you're good at."

"Wow, sister." I put my hand to my chest. "You actually admitted I'm good at something."

"Good at being a deceptive liar who abuses recruits." She spat.

"Don't throw stones when you're wearing hypnoshades, sis." I told her.

"You get worse by the day…" She rolled her eyes.

"Hey, tati me shu, nai nooma yu." I said.

"What…what does that mean?" She was confused.

"Oh, sorry," I poked her nose. "I forgot you can't speak Inklish."

I smugly patted her head.

"I said I'm not a bad person…" I explained. "I'm just a little troubled."

"Twai shoomi nu!" I waved her goodbye.

She looked angry as I walked off.

 **At the Pods…**

I could tell my sisters were having a conversation. They thought I was sleeping, but I was awake. I could hear every word.

"Clair, you need to do something about her." Cathy said. "She's getting worse."

"As much as I want to, the higher-ups aren't going to do anything" Clair said. "The Lieutenants don't care and the Commander's mind has been slipping for years."

"But she can't just get away with this." Chloe said.

I then opened my pod.

"Oh, so when you beat up people, it's justified." I looked down on them. "But when I do it, I'm a monster."

They actually seemed surprised I heard them.

"We punish you for your bad behavior." Carly said. "You just abuse people because you feel like it."

"I need to vent." I told her. "I have to deal with your shit all the time. I need to let my anger out somehow, and beating up people more pathetic than me helps me feel better."

"Is that why you do it?" Clair stared at me. "To feel like you're better than other people?"

"I am better than those worthless idiots." I boasted.

"Seriously?!" Catherine looked pissed. "You're just doing this because of us! Because you're jealous that other people are better than you!"

"I'd watch your tone, Cathy." I told her. "I can't beat you in a fight, but that doesn't mean I can't hurt you in other ways."

"What does that mean?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It means don't mess with me." I closed the pod door.

That'll show her. It was a bluff, but I think she'll back off.

I lied down, clutching my Octo-Samurai plushie.

Suddenly, the pod door was forced open.

"What?!" I was actually surprised. "What're you-"

I was pulled out of my pod and onto the floor. Catherine then pulled my by the shirt up to her face.

"You feel like the big Octo, huh?" Catherine said. "Clair, I think she needs to be taught another lesson."

"W-wait, Clair!" I looked to her. "You aren't gonna let her do this…right?"

"Do whatever you think will put her on the right track." Clair coldly said.

Catherine started carrying me away as the others followed.

"Wait Clair, please, I'm sorry!" I begged her. "Clair!"

She didn't say anything as I was carried off and beaten up in front of a crowd of people. They even held me and let recruits who I've attacked before take a swing at me. Eventually, they dropped me on the ground.

"Now what do you say?" Cynthia asked me.

"I-I'm sorry." I prostrated myself In front of everyone.

Please don't humiliate me more…

"I don't know…" Carly said. "I think she needs some more convincing."

"Please, no!" I begged. "I've learned my lesson!"

"Just to let you know, try this again and we won't go so easy on you next time." Cathy said.

"Right…" I said.

"Come on." Cathy pulled me up.

They took me back to the pods a humiliated mess.

They'll respect me when one day. I just need to become an Elite…

 **Author's note: Oh, in case you want an idea of what the pods look like, look up Japanese Capsule Hotel.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **Months later…Midnight…**

Things only got worse from then. They started watching me like a hawk. I even did so poorly on one test that I actually dropped a couple ranks. At this point, I'll never be an Elite…no…I will be one. I just need more motivation…

I don't want to talk to her, but I have to know…

"Clair…" I tapped her pod. "Clair…"

"…What do you want, Cassie?" She groggily asked.

"Is it great?" I asked. "Being an Elite?

"…Well, you can get your own squad if you want." She told me. "You can also get into the DJ's concerts without a ticket, and even get some access to some decent food."

"Aaaawww…" I whined. "Now I want to be an Elite even more…"

"Cass, unless you have some big plan to improve big time, you won't be an Elite any time soon." She sighed.

Wait…I know. It involves working with her, but it could work…

"…Clair, I have an idea." I told her.

"What is it?" She tilted her head.

"You know how a lot of soldiers always talk about sneaking off to Inkopolis and stealing a Zapfish?" I asked her. "Maybe killing an Inkling?"

"Don't tell me…" She facepalmed.

"What if we did it?" I suggested. "With your skill and my understanding of Inklish, we could totally do it!"

"Because it would be suicide." She gave me a look. "They'd splat you on sight."

"But it could work out…" I had to say it. "…for both of us…I could be an Elite by my 17th birthday and you could be…an even higher ranking Elite!"

"Cass, I'm not going with your idiotic plan." She lied back down.

"But if we do this, we could get transferred somewhere better." I said. "Like Octo Valley."

"We're already going to Octo Valley." She told me. "We transfer tomorrow."

"What?" I was confused. "We are?"

"WE are." She clarified. "You aren't."

"W…why?" I was more confused.

"Cassie, we're tired of waiting for you." She explained. "We could've transferred out by the time we became Advanced class, but we wanted to see if you would ever actually improve…You didn't."

"But…we were all supposed to be Elites." I reminded her.

"We were." She agreed. "But the rest of us can't wait for you anymore. Sorry…"

"…Fine." I turned away. "I'll just do it myself."

"You?" She sat back up. "You'll get killed."

"Or I'll come back with a Zapfish." I said.

"This won't work." She shook her head.

"Well I'm going to do it!" I decided. "If it means being an Elite and finally getting some respect, I'll do it."

"You won't go." She stated. "Even you know it'd be too much of a risk."

"I'll go." I started packing. "And I will succeed."

"No you won't." She responded.

"Just go to Octo Valley." I told her. "I don't want you guys seeing me again until I'm an Elite."

Whatever." She lied back down. "Goodbye forever…"

I'll show you. I'll show all of you.

I packed what I needed. Some Emergency Food Rations, need those, a large sack with some rope to carry the Zapfish, a two-way radio in for worst case scenarios, salmon bait? Why do I have this again? Oh well, you never know, and my Octo Samurai Plushie for…emotional support. You don't beat me up and call me a runt, Octo Samurai Plushie.

I can't taking an Ink Tank or an Octoshot. Too heavy and I need to sneak. Three Splat Bombs will do, but I'll need to conserve them.

I managed to near the pipes to the surface. Unfortunately, there was an Octotrooper guarding. Alright Cass, if you fooled a Lieutenant, you can fool an Octotrooper.

"Hello!" I waved.

"No one goes through." He said.

"All right then." I started walking past him. "Just keep up the good work making sure no one goes through here."

"Right." He said. "…Hey, wait!"

Carp…

"I said no one is allowed through!" He glared at me. "Name yourself!"

"I'm…no one…" I told him.

"No one?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Y-yes!" I said. "No one. That means I'm allowed through!"

"But I'm not allowed to let anyone through!" He stated.

"You said 'No one goes through'." I reminded him. "I am No one, meaning I go through."

"Uuuhhh…" He looked around. "But I'm supposed to watch that Hallway and make sure No one goes through!"

"And you made sure No one, who is me, went through." I told him. "Now you can go back to watching the Hallway."

"Uh…that…makes sense, I guess…" He nodded. "Alright then, I'll keep watching the hallway. Go on through, No one!"

Wow, what an idiot. Oh well, at least it worked.

I dove through the pipes.

 **The Surface…**

Wow…I've never been up here before…I don't think anyone has since the DJ enforced that "No one goes to the Surface" policy. Well, I am No one, hehehe…

Honestly, I'm not sure why. These…these stars are pretty. That band of light and clouds in the sky…that must be what the humans called the Milky Way.

I looked around. Huh…I've seen pictures of what the outside of the Gorge looked like, but I've only seen it now. I couldn't see much since it was dark. I Superjumped around to find the way out. I heard there are pipes that connect to the Inkling City, but where…?

At one point I found an odd structure…Some kind of cabin? This definitely wasn't one of our buildings. Did Inklings build on our territory?! Isn't that invading our land or something? Great…now Inklings want our domes too…Octo, I hate them…

I looked in and turned a light on. There were…Zapfish dolls?

Weird...

There was a picture too. It was an Old Inklling guy posing with two young Inkling girls. They must've won something if the trophy was anything to go off of. Wait…the hat…that's Cuttlefish!

Well, it doesn't look like he's here…good. I hear he splats Octolings without a second thought.

There were also some outfits. Black with a neon-yellow vest…a neon yellow jacket…is this what Inklings wear?

I put the neon Jacket on. Huh…it fit nicely…will this do? What exactly does an Inkling look like again?

Oh yeah! I looked through the drawers and found some headwear. I believe this black thing is called a beanie. Well, it covers my suction cups. I'll wear this green hat over it. Why not?

I rummaged through the drawers more to find a black marker. Yes! I managed to find a mirror. Alright, just connect the eye rings and bam! Instant Inkling!

I'll keep the marker just in case.

My round ears are still a problem, but I'll just say it's a birth defect. Not that I plan on talking to any Inklings though…

Now if there's an Inkling building, there must be a way to an Inkling city near by…Bingo! A manhole to…somewhere... maybe that Inkopolis I've heard of…well, one way to find out.

I dove through…

 **Minutes Later…**

I finally made it to the other side.

Wow…I…actually expected to be surrounded by buildings or something, but it's all trees. The Inklings really don't make the most out of their land, do they? Either that or they all died and the land became overgrown over the years…wouldn't that be something?

There's a stone pathway on the ground. Maybe it leads to Zapfish...

Well, I got this far…

After a few minutes of walking, I heard sounds. Vehicles? I saw lights. I came towards the edge of these woods to find big, bright, colorful, buildings. It was nighttime, but this city was so bright it might as well have been day.

Woah…

Walking along the streets were tons of Inklings, Urchins, Jellyfish, crabs, and a bunch of different fish.

This may be tougher than I thought…

 **Author's note: Oh boy, Cass sneaking around in Inkopolis. This'll end well.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 **Inkopolis Nighttime…**

Wow…seeing all these giant, colorful buildings that the Inklings have while we live in underground domes just…it makes me hate them even more to be honest…

I started walking around. Zapfish have to be somewhere, right? I saw some Urchins waiting at a street corner. Judging by the lines, this'd be where you'd cross the road. Also judging by the red light on the other side, I'll have to wait for it to change if I want to cross.

Sure enough, it changed and they started crossing. I did too.

Alright, I need to find a map or something. But where?

Bus-Metro-Station. That could help.

There were maps, but they mostly showed these 'bus' routes. Well, maybe these buses can take me to a power plant…

 **Shortly After…**

The heck is bus fare? Well, there must be another way…

I then saw an Inkling wave at the street and a yellow car picked her up. Bingo!

I started waving at cars…after 10 minutes of waving at cars I began to realize that wouldn't work.

I decided to keep walking around. Well, if I walk around enough, I'll find a power plant eventually. Granted, I learned Inklish, but I never thought I'd actually use it. Well, at least not like this…

After about an hour of walking around, looking at buildings, I started getting tired. I need to find a place to rest. I'll just crash at that cabin. With how dusty it was, I'm guessing no one's used it in a while.

…Well, I'm lost. Now what?

I saw an Urchin sleeping in an alleyway. Maybe that's normal.

I slumped down in an alleyway.

…

Wow, I already miss the pods.

"You okay?" A voice asked.

I looked up and found an Inkling with light blue hair looking down at me.

"I am fine." I told him.

"You sure?" He seemed concerned. "You looked lost and then you slumped down in an alleyway."

"Believe me, I am quite alright." I told him.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" He noticed.

"H-how did you know?" Shit! Did he see through my disguise?!

"You have a funny accent." He pointed out. "So where're you from?"

Is the accent really that bad?

"W-why should I tell you?" I asked. "I do not even know you."

"True…" He admitted. "I'm Scott, and are you sure you don't need help?"

He seems weirdly friendly to a complete stranger. Maybe I'll take advantage of that. It risks him finding out my identity, but if it also means finding some Zapfish could be easier.

"A-actually, yes I do." I told him. "I do not have a place to stay."

"Well…you could stay at my place." He suggested. "At least until you get on your feet."

"I would like that." I told him. "Thank you."

"Follow me." He urged me to follow.

I followed him down the street to a large building.

"This is my apartment." He opened the door. "I'll inflate a mattress for you."

Inflate a mattress?

Sure enough, he brought out a lump of plastic, attached a machine with a hose to it, and it inflated like one of those bounce pads.

"Wow." I was impressed. "That is cool"

"You really aren't from around here, are you?" He chuckled as he put a sheet over the mattress. "So what's your name?"

A name won't hurt.

"Cassandra." I introduced myself. "Cass for short."

"Nice to meet you, Cass." He said. "Just rest here for now. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay." I agreed.

Well, it's a place to stay for the time being. That's something good. I think I'll just get under these…covers…and rest for now…

 **The Next Morning…**

I woke up and looked around. Well, last night wasn't a dream. I saw a light coming from outside and decided to take a look.

Is that the Sun? It's beautiful! It's bright! It's…ow! Too bright!

I shot back down. My vision was a little blurry, but it cleared up shortly after.

Wow…I just saw the Sun. My sisters will never believe this! Wait…they're moving to Octo Valley. Screw them! They don't deserve to see this! They don't even deserve to hear my description!

Where's…Scott, anyway?

I looked around the place. Wow. I've seen a Natural's room before and this is huge compared to that. Man, Inklings have it good.

I opened one door to find him lying in the bed. He was snoring a bit. Then again, Clair tells me I snore, so who am I to judge?

I got closer.

So this is an Inkling…

This is the closest I think any Octarian from the Gorge has been to an Inkling in…probably generations…

He slowly opened his eyes to find me staring at him. He jolted around, seemingly startled that I was there.

"W-what are you doing?!" He asked, surprised.

"I just…nothing…"I said.

"Ugh, what time is it?" He looked at his clock. "Geez, early bird. Let me get some rest."

Early bird? Rest? But the sun's out. I heard Inklings were lazy, but wow…well, better do what he says.

"Sorry." I told him.

Alright, so how do I find a power plant from here? Can't see anything from these windows and I can't just ask him, so how?

After about an hour, he finally got out of bed, looking tired.

"Good morning." I said.

"Heeeyaaauah…" He yawned. "Mornin'."

"Is there anything to eat?" I asked. Can't waste my EFRs now.

"I'll getcha something after I'm ready." He went into the bathroom. A few minutes later, I could hear water running.

Guess I'll have to wait.

After about 10 minutes, the water finally stopped. Seriously? Showers should last about 5 minutes at most. Wasteful squid…

After about a minute or so, I got impatient.

"Are you done yet?" I barged in.

"Gaaaah!" He was shocked and covered himself. "A little privacy, please!"

I quickly closed the door. I guess communal showers aren't as common here as they are back home. Inklings also seem to be more prudish…

Heh…I saw everything.

After a few minutes, he came out.

"Geez, impatient much?" He seemed a little annoyed.

"Sorry." I acted sorry.

"It's fine," He assured me. "Just knock next time."

"Right." I agreed.

"So food, right?" He went for the cabinets. "What're you in for?"

I have a choice?

"W-what do you have?"

"We have Kelp Flakes, eggs, and pancakes." He told me. "What do you want?"

"Pan…cake?" I tilted my head.

"…Pancakes it is." He was obviously a bit confused by my phrasing.

He then mixed up some kind of batter and put it on a hot pan. Are all Inklings trained to cook? Back at home, we have designated cooks…

After a few minutes, he put down two plates of the pancakes, one being for me. He spread butter on them and some kind of sap-like substance. He also poured both of us a glass of milk.

Geez, he just has milk and butter? How rich is this guy?

"Dig in." He said.

I saw cut myself off a piece and tried it.

…Oh Octo…

I quickly guzzled it down and chugged the milk. I finished just in time to notice he was staring at me like I had six eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"You really aren't from around here, are you?" He chuckled.

Carp, I'm bad at this…

"No…" I admitted.

"So where are you from?" He asked. "Countryside,Reef Town, Mariana?"

Uh…

"M-Mariana." I lied.

"Figures." He said. "That explains the language thing, I hear they speak several languages there…This place must be much more than what you're used to."

"Yeah…" That wasn't untrue.

"Well, I can help you get used to here, Cass." He told me.

"Really?!" I said, excitedly.

"Sure!" He grinned. "After all, you were on the street when I found you. I'll make sure that won't happen again."

"Thanks!" Sucker…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **Inkopolis streets…**

Wow…seeing this place during the day makes it look even bigger. Octo, I wish we had the surface instead.

"Here's Inkopolis Center." He told me. "It's currently the place to be."

"Currently?" I was confused.

"Yeah, the Great Zapfish moves from tower to tower every few years." He explained. "That usually marks where the new place to be is."

Great Zapfish?

I looked up and just noticed the Great Zapfish was right there, hugging the tower. This could be my chance…

"Wow, that is so cool!" I squealed. "Can I get a closer look? It is so adorable!"

"Sure." He agreed. "You can get a closer look at its face from the eighth story."

We went in an elevator to the eighth story. I ran over to get a look at its face. It…honestly looked kind of goofy up close.

I opened the window and pet its whisker…then Scott's phone buzzed.

"Oh, I gotta take this." He said as he left, leaving me alone in the room.

"Okay, he's gone…" I turned to the Zapfish. "Now how do I steal you?"

After a few seconds of looking at its goofy face and its humongous size, it became apparent pretty quickly that I would never be able to steal this.

"Okay fish, you'll get off easy for now," I warned it. "But that doesn't mean your tiny friends are safe. Mark my words, we Octarians will have you in our hands."

It said nothing. I then realized the futility of talking to a Zapfish.

"Okay, I'm back." Scott came back. "You done here?"

"Yes, I am." There wasn't anything to accomplish here, so yeah.

"You must really like the big guy, huh?" He noticed.

"I mean, it is so cute!" I girlishly squealed. "I wish he was smaller so I could hug it!"

"Well, he's too big to hug, but you may be able to hug one of the smaller ones if you get lucky." He remarked.

"Can I?" I asked, giving him 'puppy dog' eyes.

"Yeah, they won't just let you near the little ones." He told me. "I mean, the power plants are fenced off."

"Why?" I tilted my head. "Are they worried someone might steal one?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Not sure who would though. Maybe someone who doesn't want to pay for electricity."

"I hope I can see them." I told him. "I-I just want a little creature to hug once in a while."

"Like I said, you might get lucky." He told me. "Just calm down."

"R-right…" Gotta control the cutesy girl act. Could make him more suspicious.

"I think I may know people who can help you get accustomed." He said. "Come on."

We walked down the street until we got to another apartment complex. Scott knocked on the door. About a minute later, he knocked again. Eventually, we heard someone unlocking the door. It was a green-haired Inkling in what I assumed were his undergarments.

"Dude, Greg!" Scott shielded his eyes. "Why are you in your boxers?!"

"You know my AC's broken." Greg told Scott.

"Oh, right…" Scott then looked at me, then back to him. "You couldn't put a shirt on at least? I mean, my new friend here is staring at you."

"I am not staring." I lied.

"Yes you are." He knew.

"Hey, I do not control my eyes when a half-naked squid opens the door." I told him.

"You said that weirdly," Greg remarked. "But like I said, AC's broken. I mean, why else would I be-"

"Greg, where'd you go?" A female voice in the apartment called out. "I'm getting lonely."

We looked over Greg to see an orange-haired Inkling girl peering her head out of one of the rooms.

"Is that Liz?" Scott asked. "What's she…"

His eyes then widened at his realization.

"How long has this been going on?!" He seemed shocked by the news.

Greg's face turned a deep shade of red.

"Wait in the guest room, we'll be out in a minute!" He speed-walked to the room the squid girl was in.

About a minute later, they both came out. Greg wearing more clothes now and I assume Liz is too.

"So yeah, we're together now." Greg told Scott. "Since the other day."

"Uuuhhh…who are you?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm Greg and this is Lizzie." He introduced himself and her. "And you are?"

"I'm Cass." I told him. "I'm new here."

"I can tell by your accent." He said. "So how're you liking Inkopolis?"

"I actually just arrived here." I told him. "I don't know my way around yet."

"Well, Scott did right to bring you here." He told me. "We know this place like the back of our tentacles."

"Thanks!" I said, excitedly.

"So is your guest room still open?" Scott asked. "My apartment's pretty small and I can't really keep her on the inflatable mattress."

"Already getting rid of me, huh?" I groaned. "I should have figured."

"It's not like that." He assured me. "I just thought you'd like your own room rather than crash in my living room."

My own room…?

"O…Okay…" I agreed.

"Well sure you can stay in my guest room." Greg said. "I was going to give it to Liz after she couldn't pay her rent, buuuuut…"

"I think I'm gonna share Greg's room." Liz smirked at Greg.

"I'll get you some earplugs." Scott told me.

"Well, lucky I bring my bag where I go." I told them.

"Is that all you have?" Liz looked at me, wide eyed. "You run away from home or something?"

"Um…yeah…" I admitted.

"Nope, that just won't do!" She stood up. "You and me are gett'n you some new clothes. Those clothes look fresh, but they'll get stale if it's all you wear!"

"Uh…okay…" Is she really going to do this for someone she just met?

Wow, Inklings are idiots.

"Come on!" She grabbed my hand and led me to the door.

"Uh, guys?" I looked at them.

"Sorry, but when she gets her mind on something, no one can stop her." Scott told me. "Have fun!"

I was immediately taken by the hand to a nearby mall. Liz had me try on several outfits to see if they looked "fresh" on me. Some I thought looked neat, some not so much. I made sure to keep my hat on.

"That swimsuit looks so fresh on you!" She complimented.

"Swim suit?" I looked at it. "But we can't swim."

"We here in the city have hot tubs." She told me. "We're also allowed in the shallow ends of pools with lifeguards around."

People go in water in these? I was led to believe Inklings were prudish but this showed off more than my military gear. Inklings are weird.

Whatever, I'll play along for now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: New Follower! Thanks Feanor144 for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and all who read this continue to enjoy!**

Chapter 8

 **Arowana Mall Food Court…**

Oh Octo this food is amazing! I can barely hold myself back from just downing it all at once.

"You really like the food here, don't you?" Liz correctly guessed.

"Esch." I answered.

"I don't know what food you've had before, but this stuff is pretty low-standard to be honest." She told me. "You must've been from a poor area, huh?"

"Why do you think I only had one set of clothes?" I asked her.

"Well, we'll make sure that doesn't happen again!" She assured me.

"Thanks." I smiled.

Then her eyes widened, she froze, and her ears twitched.

"Uhhh…Liz?" Was she okay?

"Karaoke…" She shispered.

"What?" What's she talking about?

"Karaoke!" She made me grab my bags as she grabbed hers and pulled me somewhere else.

A minute later we arrived at what looked like a club or something where someone was singing on stage.

"So what's Karaoke?" I asked.

"Oh. My. Cod." She looked at me. "You don't know?! I love karaoke! It's amazing! It's where you get on a stage and sing a song! It's sometimes just you, sometimes a duet!"

"Oh, that's neat." I guess.

"Let's do karaoke!" She said.

"Wait…you and me?" I stared at her. "You want me…to sing?!"

"Uh, yeah!" She answered.

"I-I've never even…sung before…" I told her.

"You'll do great!" She assured me. "Now let's get in line!"

She pulled me into the short line to sing. I was honestly nervous. Why is she having us sing?! I shouldn't even be doing this right now!

After a few minutes, we were next she picked the ancient melody "Calamari Inkantation." It's apparently a song that commonly has two singers. What do I do?! We soon got on stage and some people were just having idle chats at the tables while others were staring at us. Great…now I'm about to humiliate myself…

Music then turned on. It was a lot of classical instruments and it was made to sound like it would be played during a small festival. Then words started scrolling up on a screen that we were supposed to sing.

I started a split second after Liz did and did my best to stay in-sync with her at the beginning part. Then it was a solo part for her. I could immediately tell it would be my turn next. I sang as best as I could at my short solo part, then it was both of us again. Slowly, but surely I got more into the groove of the song and I managed to relax a bit.

Wow…I think I actually like this song. I was managing to stay in-sync with her and was much less nervous. I actually managed to get lost in the rhythm. Soon enough, the song ended and the room applauded.

"Wow Cass," Liz stared at me. "You're actually pretty good."

"I am?" I tilted my head.

"Yeah!" She replied. "Your singing voice is…wow."

"I…huh…" I wasn't sure what to say.

"Oh, look at the time." She looked at a clock. "We should be heading back."

"O-okay…" I agreed.

I followed her back to the apartment. It was just us when we got back.

"Where's Greg?" I asked.

"He'll be back soon." She told me. "He's just been turfing for some extra cash."

Oooookay…

"Well, now what?" I sat on the couch.

"We can watch some TV for now." She flipped it on.

"Okay." I agreed.

"Which channel do you wanna watch?" She asked me.

There's more than one? TVs back home just have the music/news update channel.

"I don't care." I responded.

She turned it to some kind of fictional show that had to do with two may-be lovers. I could already tell it was garbage, but she seemed to be invested in it.

After a few minutes, Greg came home.

"Hey ladies!" He waved as he entered.

"Heyyy Greg!" She waved at him.

"Sup." I acknowledged him.

"Huh, I thought you went clothes shopping." He said. "Why're you still wearing that beanie and hat?"

"I like it!" I pretended to pout.

"Really?" Liz tilted her head. "I mean, I like my scarf, but I only wear it in the Winter."

"I-uh…my head's a little misshapen…" I lied. "It's really embarrassing…"

"Oh…" Liz said.

"It's okay, you can keep it on." Greg told me.

"As long as you switch hats every now and then!" Liz asserted. "Stinky squids aren't welcome here!"

"Right, right…" I rolled my eyes.

"Actually…" She leaned in and wrinkled her nose. "You really could use a bath."

"Rude!" I lightly pushed her back.

"Lizzie's very strict with hygiene." Greg informed me.

"That's why I bought you a beakbrush!"

"Oh, uh…thanks?" I made an awkward smile.

"Huh…" She looked at my smile. "Your beak's oddly shaped. It has one top point on one side and the bottom on the other."

"L-like I said, I'm oddly-shaped." I told her.

"Your ears are round too." She just noticed.

"Hey, I'm sensitive about those!" I lied.

"Sorry." She backed off. "Anyway, bathtime!"

 **5 Minutes Later…**

It seemed like a waste of resources. Lizzie filled an entire tub full of water and sprinkled stuff in it that made soapy bubbles form. She also turned the fan on for the steam.

"Alright, I'll give you some privacy." She walked out the door. "No peeking, Greg!"

"I wasn't planning on it!" He said from across the other room.

The door was shut, leaving me alone. Private bathing? Wow. Only high-ranking Elites back home get access to that kind of stuff…I guess no one would fault me if I enjoyed myself a little bit during my self-given mission.

I soon lied in the tub and closed the curtain. Wow this feels nice. The water's warm, the bubbles I still feel are unnecessary, and…I recognize cleaning utensils, but what products are these?

Jellyfresh Tentacle Gel? Sharktooth Shampoo? Oh well, I'll just use whatever works. I got my face, my hair, everything.

After two minutes, I was done and started drying off. Wait…where're my clothes? Did Lizzie take them to wash them?! Where's my marker?! How do I-

The door then opened.

"Hey Cass, do you need me to get your ba-" Lisa paused when she saw me standing right there. "What the...?"

"D-don't look!" I covered my head!"

"What's with your hair?!" She was shocked. "What's with your eyes?!"

I then heard more footsteps.

"What's going o-woah!" Greg quickly covered his eyes.

Liz quickly shut the door.

"I-I'll get some clothes for you!" She said from the other side.

Oh Octo, no! She saw my eyes! She saw my hair!

Shit, shit, shit!

She soon returned with some of the clothes we bought. I quickly put them on.

Well, guess I have to face them now…great…my first day and I blew my cover.

I exited the bathroom. Greg and Liz were on the couch. Scott actually showed up when I was in the bath.

"So…uh…this is your birth defect?" Liz asked.

"Liz, I don't think that's a birth defect." Greg pointed at an old picture he had in a scrapbook. "I think she's an Octoling!'

Liz and Scott then stared at me.

Great…what do I say…?

"Is that true?" Scott asked me.

I sat down on the couch across from them.

"Y-yes…" I answered.

"Wait…then what are you doing here?" Greg asked. "I thought Octarians lived underground."

"We do…" I said. "The thing is…there was an accident in one of the tunnels. I got lost and I ended up here trying to find my way back."

"Wow…" Scott said. "So that's why you were waving at cars and were about to sleep on the street."

"Yeah…" I rubbed the back of my head. "I decided to wear the disguise so I could blend in for the time being."

"Honestly, you don't look too much different from an Inkling." Liz told me. "Heck, if Greg didn't have one of his grandpa's old pictures here, I would've still thought you were an Inkling."

"Really?" So my disguise was pointless?

"Yeah." Scott agreed. "You can probably go without the disguise. I doubt most people can tell the difference."

"Well, that's a tremendous relief…" I sighed.

"Wow…" Greg said. "We're in a room with an Octoling…In my lifetime, I saw an Octoling…and more of her than I expected…"

"Lucky!" Scott was jealous.

"Hey!" Liz snapped at Greg. "You aren't visualizing that, are you?"

"I'm trying not to, I swear!" Greg swore.

Are they seriously changing the subject?

"Are you saying I'm not good enough for you?" She accused him.

"I did not say that at all!" Greg shouted. "You know my hearts beat for you!"

"Then prove it!" She told him.

"Oh, I will!" He assured her. "Just not in front of the kiddies."

"I'm 17, Greg." Scott said, annoyed. "I'm only a year younger than you two."

"And I'm 16." I added. "I mean, I'll be 17 soon, but…"

"Oh right, don't worry Cass," Greg said. "We'll help you out."

"Really?" I looked at them, wide-eyed.

"Yup!" Scott added.

"Sure!" Liz said.

"Thanks!" I smiled.

Idiots…


	9. Chapter 9

**New Follower means new Chapter! Thanks Wolf Fang 497 for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and all my other readers continue to enjoy the story.**

Chapter 9

 **The Next Day…**

I was up and eating cereal. I decided to sleep in a little since otherwise, I'd be waiting for the others to get up. Lisa was eating with me while Greg was still getting ready for the day.

"So you live in a cave?" She asked.

"What? No!" I replied. "We live in underground domes."

"Oh…" She said. "Is it weird having two less limbs?"

Is it weird having less brain power?

"No." I answered.

"Oh, okay." She went back to eating.

"So how do we get you back home?" She wondered.

"You think I'd be here if I knew that?" I raised an eyebrow.

That wasn't true. There was the park.

"Well, we'll look around and find something." She told me.

"Thanks!" I smiled at the sucker.

 **Later…**

They took me around the city, hoping there might be a way to take me back to the Octarian settlements. I pretended to be looking around for a way home, but I really wanted to find some Zapfish. Unfortunately, there aren't many power plants here.

So far, the squids at the apartment were right. The other Inklings seemed to think I was one of them. I only sometimes got a weird look, always followed by the question of 'How'd you get your hair like that?'

"Well, so far I'm not sure how to find a way back for you." Greg apologized. "Scott said he'd check the library, but for now we'll have to be patient. It'll look suspicious if we just go around asking for ways to Octarian settlements."

"Right." He wasn't wrong.

"So…uh…for now, you wanna try a Turf War?" He asked.

"Turf Wars?" I tilted my head.

"Well, Turf Wars are when squids battle each other to cover the most turf on a stage with their team's ink." He told me. "It's out biggest pastime."

"That sounds…fun?" I wasn't sure.

"You'll like it!" He assured me. "You first need a license though."

"License?" I was more confused.

Sure enough, there was a test for a Turf War license. Oddly enough, there seemed to be no way to lost since it was just going through an alleyway, splatting balloons. Probably the only test I completed first try and I couldn't fail. I didn't feel accomplished.

"Like it?" Liz asked, pointing at the license.

"It's…kinda weird." I looked at the thing.

"Least you could'a done was smile." Liz rolled her eyes.

"I didn't know what was going on." I glared at her.

"Well anyway, let's get you in a turf war!" She led me to the lobbies where Greg was waiting.

"Alright, with us around you shouldn't have any problems your first time turfing." Greg told me. "Now let's play."

"O…kay…" I still wasn't sure.

We then entered the lobby and when the different players were all there, we dove through these pipes and came out with…different-colored hair?! It was orange, but what rank is this?! Do Inklings just change hair color on the fly?! I had to refrain from freaking out.

We soon started the 'turf war'. It was on some bridge. When the match started, Greg, Liz, and some random squid immediately went in different directions and started inking the ground. I decided to get the parts that they missed. My weapon was a Splattershot Jr. I really didn't like the name. It almost sounded insulting.

I then saw an Inkling heading my way with…a bucket? Whatever. He noticed me and headed in my direction. I fired my weapon at him until I ran out of ink and…hit everywhere but him. Even he seemed taken back by that, but then took that opportunity to splat me. My ghost flew back to spawn.

Oh boy…here comes the…nothing?! I was just back in action?! Was it instant?! No pain?!

"What's wrong, Cass?" Greg, who also respawned looked at me weirdly.

"The respawn was instant…" I told him. "I-it didn't hurt at all!"

"What kind of respawn points do you have at home?!" He seemed worried.

"Worse ones apparently…" I groaned before returning to the match.

Unfortunately, the other team seemed to be much better than mine was. We kept getting splatted while they inked most of the turf. We lost that fight. I threw my weapon down.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" I lost a fight here too?! "I didn't even splat anyone! I hate this game! I hate those squids!"

"Woah, calm down, Cass!" Greg told grabbed my shoulder.

"Yeah, this isn't like you." Liz remarked.

"R-right…" I calmed down.

That wasn't true…That was just the real me coming out.

"We'll do better next match." Liz assured me.

"R-right…" I'm not so sure.

Unfortunetely, they were wrong. We kept losing that day. Apparently a lot of the high-level players decided to turf today. I got to level 4, but still…

I'm just born to lose, aren't I?

We decided to go to a café.

"Those matches sucked." Greg groaned.

"Sorry we kept losing, Cass." Liz apologized.

"I'm used to it…" I sighed before sitting down at one of the tables.

"Cass…" Liz seemed concerned. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing…" I didn't want to talk about it.

"Come on." Greg put his hand on my shoulder. "Tell us."

Why are they so nosy?

"I said-"

"Cass." He looked me in the eye. "Tell us."

Was I being interrogated here?

"I…always lose…" I admitted. "Sparing matches, contests, etc. I've never won. It's like everyone else is better than me."

"Why's that?" Liz asked.

"Like I know…" I groaned. "It just happens…"

"Well, maybe that can change." Greg told me.

"Yeah." Liz agreed. "I mean, they call Inkopolis the City of Possibilities!"

"Who calls it that?" I asked.

"My dad…" Liz admitted.

"Meow (Excuse me, but you left in a puuuurrrry)." Another voice said. "Meow (You forgot your earnings)."

We turned to find a large, round cat. Wait…Is that Judd?! Wasn't he part of the Squidbeak Splatoon during the war?! I hope he forgot what an Octoling looks like…

"Meow (Here's yours, yours, and…)" He looked at me.

"M-mine?" I finished.

He didn't say anything. He just had a surprised look on his face before nodding and handing me the coins.

"That was weird…" Liz said.

"Y-yeah…" I hoped this didn't mean anything bad…

"Well, I just got a text from Scott." Greg told me. "He did find maps that do show nearby Octarian settlements.

"Th-that's great!" I said.

But I still need to find a Zapfish…

 **Later…**

We soon got back to the apartment where Scott was looking at some books he got.

"Okay, so the closest Octarian settlement should be just off the coast." He told us. "Octopus Valley."

"Octo Valley?" I looked at the map. "That's where the Royal family lives."

"Huh…" Liz was intrigued. "Think we'll find a handsome prince there?"

"Lizzie!" Greg took offense to that.

"I'm just wondering." She said.

"There are princes." I told her. "But most of them are either older or younger than you."

"What's the valley like?" Scott asked me.

"Never been there." I admitted. "I hear they have some sick raves though."

"Yeah, party!" Liz immediately shifted forms at a rapid pace.

"Well, unfortunately it's labelled a restricted area." Scott informed us. "No boats will take us there."

"Well, let's just wear disguises and steal a boat." I Greg suggested.

"That's against the law." Scott said.

"Laws were meant to be broken." Liz remarked.

"No, laws were meant to be followed." Scott told her. "That's why there are punishments for breaking the law."

"Well, now what?" I asked.

"Don't worry, Cass." Liz then hugged me. "We'll find another way to get you home."

"Ga-a-aaaah!" I squealed. "Touching…hot girl touching me…I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yup." Greg smirked.

"Woah…" Scott looked at me, surprised. "Hot."

"I-I didn't say anything!" I lied.

"Hah!" Liz laughed. "Cass I'm flattered, but I already have Greg. Also I don't swing that way."

"I didn't…gaaahhhh…" I groaned.

The others just shared a laugh.

Octo, I hate when people laugh at me…


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: New Follower! Thanks RickGT18 for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and all my other readers continue to enjoy reading my stories!**

Chapter 10

 **The Next Day…**

I sat down, eating cereal again. Liz had joined, but she was glaring at me. Oh carp…did she see me? I hope she didn't find out…

"Were you spying on us last night?" She finally asked.

Carp!

"What?" I raised an eyebrow. "No. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I swear I closed the door, but I found it was open a crack." She explained. "I also swear I heard breathing on the other side."

"You heard breathing?" I tilted my head. "How?!"

"So you were peeking!" She accused me.

"I was asking because of all the noise last night!" I responded. "How could you hear breathing?!"

"Noise?" She seemed confused. "What noise?"

"You know exactly what noise…" I shot her a dirty look.

"R-right…" She looked away from me. "Sorry I accused you of spying on us…"

"It's fine…" I sighed.

Wow…I'm getting good at lying my ass off.

"So I've been seeing a bunch of weird decorations outside." I noted. "What's that about?"

"Oh, Splatoween's coming this week!" She got excited. "It's a holiday where you celebrate the spooky stuff. Kids dress up to get candy and adults dress up and go to parties!"

"Huh, so it's a holiday." I remarked.

"Yeah." She confirmed. "What holidays do Octarians celebrate?"

"Eh, no places outside of Octo Valley and Octo Canyon really do holidays." I told her.

"Why not?" She seemed confused. "Holidays are times to celebrate."

"We can't afford to celebrate." I explained. "Most settlements don't have the resources to spare for holidays. Actually, we've been ditching a lot of our old cultural traditions for the sake of survival. I've seen old pictures of our society way back when and it's almost unrecognizable."

"That's sad…" She whined. "I hope that can change…"

"Probably won't." I lamented. "At least not for the better."

"Awww, Cassie…" She walked over and hugged me.

"Gaaaahhhh…again…" I tensed up.

"I just had an idea!" She told me.

"What?" I could tell there this was going.

"We can have Splatoween be your first holiday!" She told me. "I'll buy you a costume and everything!"

"Well that's uh…" Stupid. "Nice…"

"Oh, you'll love it!" She assured me. "When Greg's ready, we'll head straight to a Splatoween store!"

"Ooookay…" I wasn't sure.

 **Later…Phantom Splatoween…**

This is an interesting store. Lots of creepy decorations and costumes. If I had a choice, I think I would browse a place like this every year just to look at everything. Liz and Greg took me to the costumes. Scott came to help out too.

"So what do you want?" Liz asked.

"Not sure." I had no idea what most of this stuff was.

"Well, there's Anglerfish, Hockey mask killer, police officer," She began listing.

"How about I try different stuff on to see what works?" I suggested.

"Great idea!" She agreed. "Okay guys, we'll have her try stuff on and see what we all think!"

"Kay." Greg and Scott said in unison.

Liz then picked out a few random costumes and gave them to me to try on.

A minute later, I came out in an anglerfish costume.

"I think I hate this." I said.

"Agreed." Liz said as she and the others nodded their heads.

Another minute later, I came out with the hockey mask killer outfit.

"Wait…Scott, didn't you say this mask was spots equipment?" I asked. "Why's a killer wearing it?"

"No idea." He shrugged.

"Too creepy!" Liz squealed. "Next!"

Another minute later, I came out in some in some kind of devil costume.

"This said…Hot Devil?" I told them.

Greg and Scott's eyes widened.

"That looks fine." Scott said.

"Yeah, go with that one." Greg agreed.

"Greg, do I have to teach you another lesson?" Liz glared at him.

"Next costume…" Greg whimpered.

A minute later, I came out with a witch costume on.

"That looks nice." Scott said.

"Shows off some leg, but keeps it tasteful." Greg added.

"You also look adorable!" Liz added.

"Well, I guess I'll wear this then." I agreed.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Well, we already have party plans, so you can be our +1." Greg told me. "For now, we can keep looking for your way home."

"R-right…" I nodded my head.

We bought the costume, a broom prop, and left the store.

"So what're you guys dressing as?" I wondered.

"I'm going as a vampire." Scott replied.

"I decided to go as a police officer." Greg told me.

"And I'm gonna wear a striped shirt, mask, and be the bank robber who just got caught." Liz said.

"Well, I know what you guys are gonna do when you get home on Splatoween night." Scott remarked.

"W-well, I may have to do research on witches." I said. "Get into character y'know?"

"Oh, I'll take you to the library!" Scott volunteered!

"That sounds good." I agreed.

 **Later…Inkopolis Public Library…**

Huh…this place is very quiet. A lot of books here. Barely anyone here too. I guess most squids don't care for information.

"So basically witches cast magical spells." Scott explained. "They usually act evil, but some witches are good. They ride on flying brooms too."

"Well that's…" Boring. "Interesting…"

"You seem a little out of it." He noticed. "What's wrong?"

"This place is boring." I admitted.

"Heh, yeah." He nodded. "Honestly, I only come here when I need things I can't just find online."

"Like what?" I wondered.

"Well, it's nice to sit down and read a chapter book sometimes." He told me. "Also there's a nice novelty to libraries."

"Right…" I guess.

"…Are you thinking about home?" He wondered.

No, I'm thinking about where some Zapfish are.

"Yes." I answered. "It's kind of a dump, but it's the only one I've got."

"Maybe it won't be a dump someday." He suggested.

"It'll stay a dump forever." I told him. "Our leaders barely do anything and the Inklings'll never help us. Apparently Octarians have tried three times to get help, but to no avail."

"Maybe that can change." He tried remaining hopeful.

"The last time was around three years ago." I told him. "And it was a big one."

"What happened?" He was curious.

"We don't talk about it." I told him.

"…Well, I'll just borrow a couple books and movies to help you find a character to get into." He told me. "Feel free to browse the library."

"I think I'll just walk around the street for a bit." I told him. "This place is kinds boring."

"R-right…" He agreed. "Well, I'll meet you back at Greg's apartment."

"Kay." I waved him goodbye.

I started walking the streets for a bit. You'd think that all this walking around we've been doing would lead me to at least one…one…

Bingo.

It has light coming from it, it has a fence, and it has "Danger, High Voltage" written on it. This has to be the place.

Let's see…I remember the way to the park. And from the city map I've seen, where I am isn't too far. Darn it, I don't have my things with me. Luckily I've hidden the bag and rope. I'll wait for the perfect chance to take the Zapfish. They'll get too suspicious if I suddenly leave with all my things, so I'll wait until I can sneak out unnoticed.

Well, back to the apartment. I'll continue to play the lost little Octoling role for now.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **The Next Day…**

Things are looking up for me. I know where a power plant is and all I need to do is wait for the perfect moment to take the Zapfish inside. Oh Octo Samurai plushie, everything is going perfectly. I could just burst with excitement! Luckily, I have enough restraint. Actually, I think I'll go to that party too. Why not? I'll celebrate my victory! No one would blame me, right? I mean, I'm not a bad person. I just deserve a little celebration is all.

I ate breakfast and sat down on the couch to watch TV. Liz and Greg came out later.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Liz noticed.

"Well, I was just thinking about that party." That wasn't untrue. "It'll be my first one, so I'm excited. When it it?"

"On Splatoween night in two days." She answered. "Oh, you'll love it. It's at the house down the street. We were there last year. There'll be lots of people there, fun food, drinks, and games. Oh, Greg, let's have her play spin the bottle! Her reaction will be priceless!"

"Spin the bottle?" I tilted my head.

"I-it's a game mostly teens play." Greg explained. "It's where you spin an empty bottle on the ground and kiss whoever it points to. Sometimes more than that…"

"I-I haven't actually…kissed anyone…" I admitted.

"We figured." She shrugged. "I just thought your first party should be memorable."

"R-right…" I couldn't hide my red face if I tried.

"Oooooh, someone's nervous." Liz wasn't wrong. "Think she'll find the one there?"

"I-I don't even know anyone here other than you two and Scott!" I replied. "B-besides, I'm an Octoling trying to get home. I don't have time for romance."

"And yet you have time to go to a party in the first place." Greg noted.

"W-well, also I'm an Octoling and I doubt it would work out between me and an Inkling." I told him. "We're two different species."

"And yet the first thing you did when you came here was ogle me and you spy on us every night." Greg replied.

"I-I do not spy on you guys!" Damn it! What happened to my good lying?!

"Cass, it was obvious." Greg knew. "Besides, I don't blame you for perving on us. We don't exactly keep quiet."

"S-sorry!" I bowed my head in apology.

"So you were spying on us!" Liz shouted.

"C-can you blame me?!" I asked. "You're both hot!"

Liz then covered her face in embarrassment while Greg started laughing hard.

Damn it, stop laughing at me!

"Ah, anyway," Greg finally calmed down. "We just want your first party to be special. Do whatever you want. It doesn't have to be spin the bottle, just whatever you want."

"R-right…" Whatever I want…

 **Later…**

Scott had come over to hang out again. He tried looking around and bringing up the topic of Octarian settlements in a vague way, but to no avail. Greg and Liz went out to look around themselves while I decided to be lazy on the couch while Scott hung around on his laptop.

"So you excited for the party?" He asked.

"Yeah." I answered. "Dressing up and having a good time sounds fun. Something different."

"So what is life like in the domes as you call them?" He was curious.

"It's-uh…I don't wanna talk about it…" I told him.

"My mom said talking about problems helps." He told me.

"Huh…a mom…" I said.

"Oh…yours not around anymore?" He sounded uncomfortable.

"I never had a mom." I told him. "I came out of a tube."

"A…tube?" He was confused.

Should I tell him? Well, I guess it won't hurt…

"Most Octarians are made from severed tentacles grown in tubes." I explained. "I'm one of those Octarians."

"Why are they grown in tubes?" He asked.

"I can't answer that." I said. "Just know it's Great Turf War-related."

"Oh…" He seemed in thought. "Are you sure you're okay, Cass?"

Why is he so curious?

"I'm fine." I told him. "Why?"

"Well, you seem desperate to get home, but so far, all I've heard about it isn't good." He noted. "I mean, do you really want to go back?"

"I do." I told him. "It's home. Besides, I still have things I need to do."

"Like what?" He asked.

"I can't say…" I told him.

"Can I get a hint?" He begged.

"…Prove my worth…" I mumbled.

"What does that mean?" He heard me.

"I-I don't wanna talk about it…" I really didn't.

"Okay…" He walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. "Just…if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."

I didn't say anything.

Why was this guy so nosy?

I feel…I don't know…

"So what do we do until the party?" I wondered.

"Well, aside from look for a way back for you, whatever we want." He shrugged. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to do something since I think I've probably spent the least amount of time around you compared to Greg and Liz. I'd like to get to know you too."

"Don't you have a girlfriend or something?" I asked.

"No…" He answered. "Just hasn't happened yet."

I take note…

"Alright, I get it." I got up. "You wanna spend some time with a girl without feeling like a third wheel."

"Th-that is not what's happening!" He assured me.

"Whatever you say…" I rolled my eyes. "Well, what do you want to do, anyway?"

"Not sure." He said. "I mean, it's supposed to get chillier, but today is warm and tomorrow's supposed to be too."

"Maybe there's a pool open." I guessed. "I mean, I'd like to try out one of hot tubs Liz mentioned."

"Honestly, that's not a bad idea." He agreed. "Here, I'll write up directions to the nearest pool with a shallow end and I'll meet you there."

"That's fair." I agreed.

Sure enough, Scott wrote me the directions and the shallow-end pool was open. He came shortly after I did, finding me relaxing in the hot tub.

"Having fun?" He asked.

"This is awesome…" I stated.

"Well, nice to see you're having a good time." He smiled. "I mean, I don't know what goes on in your settlements, but it's good to see a friend relaxing."

Friend?

"Well, I think I've been in her long enough." I told him. "I'm gonna try the shallow pool. Some Jellies are playing volleyball and it looks fun."

"Have fu-woah…" He paused as I got up.

"Hm?" I then noticed his face went red. "Oh, I see…"

"I-I wasn't…" He was a shit liar.

"It's fine, I don't mind." I told him as I patted his head. "Just try to be slick in the future."

"R-right…" He looked away.

Ha! He was checking me out! I think I'll have fun with this…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **Later…**

It's been a nice day at the pool so far. I played and sucked at pool volleyball, I relaxed in the hot tub some more, I splashed Scott a couple times, though not without getting splashed back, and I swear he almost passed out when I asked him to rub the sun lotion on my back. Soon enough though, it started raining. People started running inside and/or home.

"I don't get it." I shrugged as I lied down on one of the chairs. "If rain is just dripping water, why leave?"

"Well, they don't want their towels and other belongings to get wet." Scott explained as he came back from dry shelter. "We should leave too. It's supposed to storm."

"Storm?" I raised an eyebrow. "What do you-"

Before I could finish, the sky flashed and a loud, crackling *boom* sound startled me so much, I jumped.

"Yeah, that's thunder." Scott told me.

"L-let's get out of the storm!" I agreed.

We quickly went inside. The place had an indoor pool too, but I told Scott that at this point I was ready to go back.

"Alright, my apartment's closer if you want to get out of the storm quicker." He told me.

"Sounds good…" I just wanted to get away from this…thunder.

We soon got back to Scott's apartment. I was actually glad to be out of the rain.

"Alright, dry off and change." Scott told me. "The couch is leather, so we shouldn't get it wet."

"Kay." I said as we both started drying off.

"So do storms happen often?" I asked.

"Depends on the weather." He told me.

Ooookay…well, I guess I'll change into something dry now.

"Woah, Cass!" Scott covered his eyes.

"What?" I tilted my head.

"Do Octolings not know privacy?!" He asked.

"Well, we use communal showers and mostly sleep in pods that are right next to each other." I told him. "So you tell me."

"I'll just change in my room…" He hurried off.

Whatever verse this is, same as the first. Inklings are weird…

After I had dry clothes on, I sat on the couch and turned the TV on. It said music channel, but what I saw on the TV was some crown-wearing squid screeching as instruments pounded in the background.

Scott came out of his room a minute later. He sat next to me on the couch.

"I didn't see anything, I swear." He told me.

"Oh, did you want to?" I grinned.

"That's not what I…never mind…" He gave up. "Let's just say Inklings tend to care more about privacy than Octolings seem to."

"Eh, it's fine." I shrugged. "Not like I'm special anyway."

"Unless every other Octoling girl is a supermodel, I doubt that." He mumbled.

"Come on." I rolled my eyes. "I mean, I'm fit, but not anything special, I can't do much, and I have this stupid red hair."

"What's stupid about it?" He seemed confused. "I think it looks nice."

He does? Inklings ARE weird…

"Let's just say changing hair color is viewed differently be Octarians." I said. "People who are of basic classes have red hair, Advanced classes can switch to nice violet hair, and Elites have beautiful black hair."

"I'm guessing you're still basic?" He guessed.

"Yeah, it sucks…" I admitted.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked.

"No…" I replied.

"You know, you're clearly bothered by a lot of things back home, but you never want to talk about them." He noticed. "They say talking helps."

"I don't need help." I was starting to get a little annoyed.

Why's he so nosy?

"Cass, you're clearly troubled." He told me. "Let me help."

"I don't need help!" I shouted.

"Cass, stop!" He told me.

"No!" I was really annoyed by now.

"Cass," He grabbed my shoulders. "Something's troubling you. You aren't happy. I hate seeing people when they aren't happy. If you want to be happier, I'll do whatever it takes to cheer me up. Just let me help you."

"Geez, are you gonna kiss me or something?" I asked, noticing how close he was.

His eyes widened and he blushed.

"W-will it cheer you up?" He asked.

"No." It really wouldn't. "But I appreciate the offer."

He then let go.

"Well, just keep that in mind, Cass." He said. "I don't like it when people are upset."

"Kay." I said as he got up.

Ugh…what is with this squid? What does he want from me? I don't understand Inklings at all…

I just lied down on the couch, eventually falling asleep.

 **Hours Later…**

A loud crash of thunder woke me up. I fell off the couch, realizing there was a blanket on me. Great, how am I supposed to sleep with all the-

 ***BOOM!***

"Eep!" I jumped.

Seriously, why does this exist?!

Then a door opened.

"You okay?" Scott asked.

"No." I answered. "Thunder woke me up and I don't think I'll ever get back to sleep."

"…Come here." He urged me to follow him.

I followed him into his room. He sat on his bed.

"I was scared of thunder when I was little." He told me. "When it'd wake me up at night, I'd sleep in my parents' bed. That'd help me sleep."

"So you're suggesting I share the bed with you?" I figured.

"If it'll make you feel better." He replied.

"There are some serious red flags in this situation, but I just wanna get back to sleep." I reluctantly agreed, climbing into the bed, which was barely enough for both of us. "Just keep your back turned and I'll do the same."

"Got it." He agreed.

Sure enough, we lied down with our backs facing each other. Admittedly, it wasn't horrible. The bed was small, but it was warm. I actually found myself drifting to sleep.

 **Morning…**

I was pretty groggy, but was slowly waking up. Huh, he was right. I did manage to fall asleep. Right now, the storm's over and I was waking up in the morning, clutching a pillow…that wasn't fluffy…gave off heat…and had heartbeats…that's not a pillow, is it?

Yep. I realized that at some point in my sleep, I rolled over and clung to Scott. I slowly took my arms off him and got out of the bed. I slowly crept to the door so I could try to forget this happened.

"Up already?" Scott asked.

"You were awake?!" I turned to him.

"Yeah, I woke up earlier." He smiled. "You did not want to let go."

My face went red.

"Hey, I didn't mind." He smirked. "I just didn't know you'd be so forward."

"I-I am not forward!" I shouted. "That was just some subconscious thing I did because of the storm!"

"Right…" He rolled his eyes with a big stupid grin on his face.

I just stormed out and got breakfast. I need to get my mind off of this.

Remember Cass, the Zapfish, Party, then power plant.

Stay focused.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 **The Day…**

Well, the previous day went similar to the others. I spent some time with Greg while Scott and Lisa were looking for my way home before returning to the apartment to socialize. I did read a little bit about witches. Something about magic, spells, and cats. The only annoying part is Scott probably told Liz about the storm incident and she kept trying to leave me alone in a room with Scott. I don't get it. What was she trying to accomplish?

Today was the day though. I had the witch costume put on. Greg was the police officer like he said, Lisa wore the stripped shirt and mask to look like a stereotypical robber, and Scott came by dressed like a vampire.

"You look nice." He complimented.

"Oh-uh, thanks." I responded "You already saw me in this though."

"I know," He said. "I just thought I'd say it…"

Ooookay…

It wasn't until it started getting dark that we left. There were lots of decorations out and there were lots of kids with their parents dressed up. I saw ghosts, werewolves, vampires, zombies, robots, etc. Eventually we got to the place where the party was supposed to be. It was what I assumed was a single-family house with lots of people outside

Inside were lots of people as well. There were some games and there was a bunch of food at a table. I got wide-eyed at the food.

"Well, have fun and try not to look too out of place." Greg told me. "And here's a key in-case you want to go home before we do."

I took the key.

"Now what to do first?" I wondered.

"Well, this is the main hangout room to socialize." He told me. "Game room is to the left, movie room is in the basement, and if I remember correctly, spin the bottle would be upstairs if you're interested."

"I-I'm not." I told him.

"Well whatever you decide to do, have fun." Liz told me.

I nodded my head.

First thing I did was get some snacks and go downstairs where a few people were on a couch and the floor watching the TV. I took a seat. It was some movie that took place in a campground.

"What's going o-"

"Sssshhhh!" An urchin shushed me. "This is the good part!"

Good part?

It was a raunchy romance scene. My eyes were glued to the screen. For some reason it kept cutting to someone's footsteps outside the room. The door opened, the figure walked over, and-

"Ah!" I shouted as that couple got axed.

"Bahahahaha!" The urchin next to me laughed.

Maaaybe I'll watch the movie after this one…

I walked back upstairs. I decided to try out some of the games. One was called ping-pong. I sucked at it. Another was the air-hockey. I scored a point while my opponent scored 5 points. I then tried the dartboard. I almost hit someone.

Maybe I'll try socializing.

…How do I start?

I took a seat on one of the couches. There were some squids having a conversation, but I wasn't at all interested or knowledgeable in what they were talking about. Something about new stages.

I got up and walked around. I knew no one here and didn't know what to talk about.

I sighed and walked upstairs. I'll just watch.

Sure enough, there were some squids sitting in a circle spinning a bottle. Is it really that popular? Whatever.

After a few minutes of watching nothing really interesting, I decided to head back downstairs and into the backyard. There were people playing other kinds of games. One was sticking your head in a bucket of water to grab a fruit with your beak. I didn't do it, but it was fun to watch.

Another game was grabbing a small beanbag and throwing it to another board, trying to get it into a hole. I soon tried that. My aim sucks.

Another game was throwing a horseshoe to a pole. I've heard of a horseshoe crab, but what's a horse?

I just decided to go back inside, get some snacks, and watch the movie again. It seemed to have ended and they put in another one. I then realized I was sitting next to Liz minus Greg.

"Having fun?" She asked.

"To be honest, not really." I replied. "I don't know anyone here, have nothing to talk about, suck at the games, and spin the bottle looked more lame than exciting. I might leave early."

"Oh." She looked around, trying to think of something. "Maybe you can hang around us and join one of our conversations."

"I guess." I didn't see that working.

"Oh, there'll be karaoke later!" She told me. "I would love to have everyone hear that awesome voice of yours!"

"Really?" I looked at her. "You actually think it sounds good?"

"Are you kidding?" She stared at me. "Your voice is amazing! You should be a singer back home!"

"Not sure if I'd meet standards back home." I groaned.

"What standards?" She tilted her head.

"I'd have to be able to…" How do I describe it? "Make him move…and he has really high standards."

"Who?" She asked.

"Can't say." I said.

"Well, I think you're pretty great and I'm sure everyone else will too." She assured me.

"If you say so." I replied.

Soon enough there was singing. As soon as she could, Liz pushed me into the center of the room and gave me a mic. I immediately froze. At least the one club place was somewhat dark. Here, it was bright and I could see several people looking right at me.

"Don't worry!" Liz told me as she held her microphone. "I'll pick a song you should know from the music channel."

Music channel. Right. I heard lots of songs from there, so I'll get the lyrics and timing right. I'll do fine, right?

She picked "Under the Deep."

Alright, this is a slow song.

We managed to stay in-sync. It wasn't a hard song. I think we did well and so did the people in the room if the clapping was an indicator of anything.

Liz then picked another song. For me alone this time.

"Crashing Waves."

I remember this song started slow, but got much faster.

It was sort of difficult to sing, but I managed to keep up with the tempo.

People clapped again when the song ended. I expected to give the mic to the next person, but I was actually asked to sing one more song.

Liz picked a recent one that I heard on the TV.

"Now or Never."

This was a fun one. A nice flow, good instruments, and lots of la-lalala-la-laaaas. I actually managed to lose myself in the song.

When the song ended, pretty much everyone in the room was cheering. I did an awkward wave and handed the mic to the next person as I walked over to one of the couches. There were people telling me good job and patting me on the back as I walked.

"You did great, Cass!" Liz told me.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Greg joined the conversation. "Liz told me about your singing, but it was great hearing you in person."

"I agree." Scott joined too. "You didn't tell us you had a good singing voice."

"I didn't even know until now." I told him.

"Well, you learn something new every day." Greg stated.

Yeah…I guess so.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks REDNICK2002 for following this story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads this continues to enjoy my stories!**

Chapter 14

 **Later…**

Weird…after the singing, I actually kind of had fun at the party. Some of the people there were asking me questions about my hair, my voice, and if I had sung before.

After a while, I started to get a little tired of the party.

"Hey, um…I'm gonna head out." I told my…associates…

"Okay, we'll see you later." Greg said.

Heh, sure you will…

"I think I'll head out too." Scott said. "I'm starting to get tired."

"Kay, see ya man." Greg said.

"Bye guys!" Liz waved.

Scott and I walked out of the party and down the street.

"So did you have fun?" He asked.

"You know what?" I looked at him. "Yeah, I actually did."

"Well good." He said. "Nice to see you cheering up."

There he goes again…

"I'm not sure why you're so concerned about me." I shrugged.

"Are Octolings not concerned about others?" He asked.

"I mean, we are, but it's mostly everyone out for themselves in the end." I explained. "Someone gets splatted, it's better that octopus than me."

"You deserve better than that." He stated.

"I'm trying to get better." I told him. "I will get better."

"How?" He raised an eyebrow. "We still need to find you a way back."

"I mean when I get back." I clarified.

"You seem so sure despite days of searching." He noticed.

"Call me an optimist." I shrugged again.

Great. I think he's getting suspicious…

"Cass," He stopped me. "Is there something you aren't-"

I cut him off when I grabbed his shoulders and pressed my lips against his. After a few seconds, I broke the kiss.

"Just…I'm just trying to be optimistic…" I made myself sound sad. "Truth is…I left my sisters behind when I got lost…I need to go back…"

"H-hey, it's alright." He bought it. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll see them again."

"Th-thanks…" I sighed. "Oh, we're at my, Greg, and Liz's apartment."

"Well…I guess this is goodbye for now…" He rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Well, thanks for the kiss…" He blushed. "I-It was a nice first.

"Yeah, it was…" I agreed. "Well, see ya!"

"B-bye!" He awkwardly waved goodbye.

 **Later…**

Alright. I have my gear on, my bag of stuff, and now a weapon. I packed the gear I brought as well as a few snacks, and my witch costume as a memento. I'm ready. I waited for Greg and Liz to come home so I could pretend I was asleep.

Sure enough, they did come home.

"Cass, we're home." I heard Greg say. "Cass?"

I then heard the door open. I pretended to be asleep.

The door then closed.

"She's asleep." Greg told Liz.

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about her watching us tonight." Lisa said. "Oh, who am I kidding? We will."

"Who cares if she does?" Greg said.

"Greg!" Liz sounded shocked.

"I'm kidding!" Greg assured her. "I'll lock the door."

I then heard their room door close.

…

Alright Cass, Go time!

I wrote an note saying:

 _ **Dear: Scott, Greg, and Liz,**_

 _ **I found a way back, but wanted to stay for the party. Sorry I left so soon without a goodbye, but I couldn't wait any more.**_

 _ **I had a lot of fun though. More fun than I've ever had. Maybe we'll see each other again someday. For now though, goodbye and good luck.**_

 _ **Love Cassandra.**_

I probably won't see them again…unless the DJ actually decides to wage war sometime in the future, but that'll mean I might be splatting them…

I crept around out the room door and out the front door. I made my way down the steps and onto the street. I took one last look back at the place before seeing my room's light turn on.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I booked it out of there. Apparently they heard me leaving.

After a few minutes, I was further down the street. I passed several "trick or treaters" along the way. Almost all of them were either Jellyfish or Inklings who haven't fully formed yet. Many had some decent costumes like these three I passed: Two blue ones and a Purple one. The Purple one was supposed to be a secret Agent while his blue friends were a zombie girl and a near-sighted cowboy squid. Honestly, they looked adorable.

Alright…down this street and…yes! The power plant! I went in a couple back alleys to find the easiest entrance. I hopped the fence and made my way in. Wow, no cameras and only a couple guards who were slacking off because of the holiday. This'll be easy.

I made my way into the building through an open window near the top. Wow, my luck tonight. Let's see…huh…this place doesn't seem like it powers much. Wait…are they breeding Zapfish?!

It seemed most of the staff was off for the holiday while a couple were still here to make sure the Zapfish were okay. There was only one in this specific room. Well, here goes nothing…

I hopped down and quickly knocked out the staff member. She never noticed me. I should probably pick from different pens in-case we want to breed them too. I then pulled out my bag. How many can fit?

1…

2…

3…

4…

Four it is. Not much for us Octarians, but it's a start.

I tied the bag and jumped towards the window. I climbed onto the roof to get one last view of the city.

"Heh, goodbye Inkopolis." I said. "You may be conquered in the future, but I look forward to seeing you again."

"Conquered…?" A voice behind me asked. "What do you mean?"

I turned around to find it was Greg. He apparently found out which direction I went in.

"Uuuuhhh…" Catfish is out of the bag…

"Cass, what's going on?" He demanded an answer. "Why are you leaving? Why are you stealing Zapfish? What do you mean conquered?"

Well, guess I have to say it…

"Heh, you guys are idiots…" I sighed. "Okay, I'll be truthful. I knew a way back from the start."

"What?" He was surprised to hear that. "But you said…"

"That there was an accident, I got lost, and just happened to wind up in Inkopolis?" I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. "You seriously believed that shit? Wow, how dumb are you guys?"

"Wait…so it was all a lie?" He stared at me in disbelief. "Everything?!"

"I mean, I did have fun," I admitted. "I just lied about my reason for being here."

"What are you planning on doing with those Zapfish?" He pointed at the bag.

"Is it not obvious?" I tilted my head. "Power, you dumbass. We need it."

"But you were talking about conquest." He noted.

"Yeah, one day we're going to take back what's rightfully ours." I smirked. "There's gonna be a war, and you're gonna lose.

"That's not gonna happen!" He told me.

I was done at this point.

"Really?" I tilted my head. "Because you're unarmed and I have a Splattershot Jr."

Regardless of that fact, he rushed me. I fired low and managed to hit his legs and knock him over.

"Sorry Greg," I walked over to him. "But these Zapfish are my ticket to being an Elite. I'm taking them and you can't stop me."

I then noticed he had his phone out. I swiped it.

"You texted them?!" I shouted.

"You won't get away with this." He spat. "They're on their way right now. And they'll be armed."

"Seriously?!" I was pissed now. "You had to make this more difficult?!"

I kicked him in the face. He quickly got up and grabbed my hair before getting punched in the stomach several times, he then let go.

"Why…?" He wanted an answer.

I put my hand on his chin and lifted his head towards me.

"Why?" I tilted my head. "Because we've been trapped underground far too long. Now's time for payback."

"You won't get away with this…" He just repeated himself.

"Aw, Greg." I then kissed him goodbye. "I'm not a bad person. I'm just doing what's fair."

I then noticed the others Super jumping this way. I knocked Greg off the roof and he fell on a dumpster before rolling onto the ground. He was okay, but worse for the wear. I Super Jumped away.

Well, I'll need to find a way to lose them when they inevitably follow me.

Hopefully I can make it.

I need to.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 **Inkopolis Docks…**

I was ducking in a few alleys and noticed something…Octo Valley is right there! I can deliver the Zapfish to Octavio directly! I'll just have to steal a boat and head over there. Heck, I'll even show my sisters my awesome accomplishment!

There were a couple boaters there, but none noticed I was there. I went out to where the boats were and then I realized…I have no idea how to drive any of these. They're nothing like the crafts Octotroopers ride.

I decided this idea was a bust and turned to go back when I noticed a squid landing in my way. It was Liz with a Charger. Oh no…this was a bad idea…

I turned to make it look like I was rushing for a boat when Scott landed on the other side with a Splattershot. Fuck!

"Drop your weapon!" Liz told me. I reluctantly obliged.

"Now come with us!" She ordered me.

"You think you've caught me?" I reached in my bag. "I guess you weren't expecting…this!"

She flinched before looking confused.

"Salmon bait?" She tilted her head.

My eyes widened as I looked at the item in my hand.

"Why do I even have this?!" I threw it to the ground and it bounced off into the water. "I meant this!"

I pulled out a Splat Bomb.

"Cass, put down the bomb…" Scott pleaded. "Let's talk…"

"Talk?!" Liz was confused. "She lied to us! She stole Zapfish! She beat up Greg! We should Splat her!"

"I'll splat you first!" I shouted. "I'm not the bad guy here! I'm just doing what I have to!"

"Cass…" Scott started walking closer. "Please stop this…"

"No!" I glared at him, readying to throw. "I need these!"

"Cass…" He kept his distance. "You don't have to do this…"

"Yes I do!" I told him.

"Cass, I don't know what life you had down in the domes, but it doesn't have to be that way…" He said.

"W-what are you talking about?!" I was confused. "Y-you're just trying to trick me!"

"I'm not." He had his hand s up. "Just listen to me…I can help you…"

Something then caught my eye as he started talking…

What is what…?

Is that a bobber in the water…?

Is it getting closer?

Wait…I know what that is…

"S-Scott!" I pointed towards the water.

"Cass, listen to me!" He shouted.

"Scott!" Liz noticed it too.

Before he could react, it crashed into the boardwalk. I got knocked back. Several ropes flung around and Scott got caught in the chain reaction, getting pulled away by the Maws. It was swimming in circles, likely trying to eat him. Scott immediately started screaming for help.

"Scott!" Liz ran towards the now shorter end of the boardwalk, trying to figure out a way to help Scott. "We have to do something!"

"What's going on?!" I heard voices in the distance calling out.

Do something…wait…she's distracted…I can give her an ultimatum…

"I-It's him or me!" I shouted.

"What?!" She shouted before I quickly Super Jumped out of there. "Cass, get back here!"

…

He'll be alright…

There are people there…

He'll be alright…

He'll be alright…

…

After landing, I made my way towards the park. After a few minutes however, I noticed something coming…

Liz…

She was after me…

I looked around…a construction site! I'll lose her in there!

I quickly ran into the site and hid. After a minute, I peered out to see if she was there, only to be met with a bomb flying towards me. I quickly ran out.

"You idiot!" I yelled. "You'll hit the Zapfish!"

A charger shot then hit me in the shoulder. I quickly got behind cover.

"S-so what?" I yelled out. "You don't care about Scott?!"

"The people at the docks are using their boats to try and help him!" She replied. "For now, I'll go after you!"

I threw a splat bomb at her and quickly made a few turns before getting hit in the same spot again.

"Agh!" That hurt!

"You can't lose me in here!" She shouted. "We have Turf Wars here all the time!"

"Y-you have Turf Wars here?!" I was surprised to hear.

"Yup, Construction sites, Warehouses, Shipyards, you name it!" She replied.

"How does anything get done around here?!" I demanded an answer.

Unfortunately my answer was a charger shot almost hitting my head.

I threw another splat bomb and ran, but a charger shot hit my leg. I fell over and rolled behind more cover.

"How could you?!" She asked. "Greg and I were good to you! Scott picked you off the streets!"

"S-shut up!" I threw my last splat bomb and ran again, but a charger shot hit my other leg.

I stumbled forwards, dropping the sack, and falling over into a stack of bricks. Because of course I'd fall there…

I reached for the sack, but a foot stepped on my hand.

I looked up to find Liz aiming her charger at me.

I couldn't believe it…my one shot…and I failed…Damn it Cass, stop crying!

I then heard Liz crying too. For completely different reasons, I'm sure…

I slowly sat up and reached a hand out towards her. She didn't shoot. I grabbed her shirt and pulled myself closer, looking like I was hugging her waist. She actually dropper her weapon. This is my chance…

I grabbed her and slammed a fist behind her knee, knocking her over. I started going for the sack of Zapfish again, but she grabbed me and pulled me over.

"Seriously?!" She couldn't believe it.

She got on top of me, pinning me. I only had one hand free. I tried blocking her punches, but to no avail.

"Get off of me…" I begged.

"Shut up!" She shouted as she kept punching. "You manipulated us!"

"Get off me!" I shouted, grabbing the nearest object.

"I thought we were friends!" She yelled.

"I said GET- ***THWAK*** OFF- ***THWAK*** OF- ***THWAK*** ME! ***THWAK***

She fell over backwards. I dropped the brick.

"Geez, can't you take a hint?" I asked. "…Why are you looking at me like that…?"

She didn't respond.

"I said why are you looking at me like that, Liz?" I asked again.

No answer.

I grabbed her and pulled her closer. I started shaking her.

"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE…?" I stopped. "Oh no…Oh Octo…"

I realized what I'd done…

I released her…

I looked at my hands…

It was on my hands…

Oh Cod…

I looked around before slowly getting up, grabbing the sack, and darting it as fast as I could out of there.

…

I did a bad…

I'm bad…

…

I really am a bad person…


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: New Follower! I hope xjustinx, my other followers, and everyone else who reads this continues to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 16

 **Several Minutes Later…Inkopolis Park**

Running…running…more running…

Where's the…there it is!

I dove through the manhole.

 **Octo Gorge…**

I'm back! I'm home!

I…I need to sit down…

Luckily, there was a couch next to the Cabin…

I sat down.

Well, I can't go back now even if I wanted to…

I actually did it…

I did everything I said I would…

I went to Inkopolis.

I stole Zapfish.

I…killed an Inkling…

…

I can't sit here forever…

I got up and walked over to the nearest kettle.

Well Cass, here goes nothing...you'll get everything you deserve…

I dove through the kettle.

I made it through the other side to find some Octotroopers.

"I'm back!" I called out.

They turned around to see me.

"I told you!" One called out. "I told you No One got past me!"

Great, it was that one…I heard the other Octotroopers groan as if he said that before.

"Hold still!" One called out.

I just walked past them. They looked confused as I did.

I didn't want to make my reveal here. No. I need to make it to the big guys.

I got to the nearest elevator and selected the Governing level.

After a few seconds, the doors opened. I walked towards the nearest desk.

"Can I help you?" The Octobomber at the desk asked.

"I stole these from Inkopolis." I told him. "Let me in."

"Wait, you're the Octoling who went AWOL!" He realized.

He then pushed a button. A few seconds later, Octoling security came in.

"You're coming with us." The security captain told me.

"But I brought something from the city!" I told her. "Let me see the Commander!"

"I said you're coming with us!" She aimed her Octoshot.

No…

I ran to the doors past the front desk, trying to open them, but they were locked.

"Let me in!" I demanded. "I got something for ya!"

"Subdue her!" The captain commanded.

"W-wha?" I turned around, only to get hit in the face.

My vision got blurry…

I dropped the sack.

"Confiscate that!" She ordered.

"N-no!" I swung my arm around. "This is mine! I-it's for…the Commander!"

I then got hit again.

Everything went to black…

…

 **Sometime Later…**

I slowly woke up, finding myself in a cell. A chain around my ankle. It was a shifty-chain, so Octopus form wouldn't help me.

A cell?!

Seriously?!

After all I'd done?!

The Chain was long enough that I could make it to the door and stick my head out of the window. I looked outside. Only a guard was there.

"Hey!" I got her attention.

"What's the deal?!

"You deserted." She responded. "What'd you think would happen?"

"I stole some Zapfish!" I told her. "Why am I in a cell?!"

"Doesn't matter." She stated. "You disobeyed the 'stay underground' rule, left the Gorge without orders to do so, and disappeared for several day. Long enough to be considered AWOL."

"Are you shitting me?!" I shouted. "I got us a source of power and you're locking me up?!"

"What'll happen next depends on the higher-ups." She told me. "Hypnoshades, death, depends on their decision."

I couldn't believe this…After all I had done…

I sat down, holding my head in my hands.

I don't deserve this…Damn it, Cass…stop crying…

 **Three Days Later…**

Three days in here…they haven't decided already? Is my punishment to rot in here?

I then heard footsteps.

"Cass?" A familiar voice called out. "Are you awake?"

I rushed to the door.

"Clair?!"I looked through the door. "What are you doing here?!

"I heard you came back and got imprisoned." She told me. "What happened?"

"I did it, Clair!" I told her. "I went to Inkopolis! I stole some Zapfish! I…killed…an Inkling…"

I was still processing that last part…

"You?" She seemed unconvinced. "You did that?"

"I have blood on my hands!" I stuck my shaking hands out, showing her. "See?!"

"You actually killed one?" She sounded surprised. "And stole Zapfish?"

"Yes!" I answered. "But those ingrates confiscated my stuff and locked me in here. Can you get me out?"

"And why would I?" She crossed her arms.

"B-because I'll finally become an Elite!" I said. "I'll finally get the respect I deserve!"

"Cassie, I can't do that even if I wanted to." She said. "You went AWOL. You did this stupid stuff just to be an Elite?!"

"Just to be an Elite?!" I couldn't believe it. "It's my dream! I want to be an Elite just like you! I risked everything for it!"

"And now you're in a cell for it." She told me. "Best case, you get hypnoshades. Worst case, death."

"…No…" I shook my head. "No, it can't be like this…I-I was…I just wanted…to…"

I started crying…

Clair just looked at me.

"…So how was it?" She asked.

"H-how was what…?" I looked up at her.

"The city…" She said. "Inkopolis."

"I-It was…beautiful…" I told her. "Pretty lights, large buildings, good food, those squids have it good…"

"…"

"A-and the sky!" I continued. "It was beautiful! I saw the Milky Way! I saw the Sun! I saw the sunrise! I saw the Sunset! It was bright! It was…amazing…"

"…Well…glad you had fun…" She said. "Your sentence will be in two weeks. I…guess it was nice knowing you…"

"W-wait…" I stopped her. "C-can I ask you something?"

"What?" She tilted her head.

"My Birthday's next week." I said. "Can…can you visit me?"

"I thought you didn't want us seeing you until you were an Elite?" She remembered.

And yet, you're here…

"I-I know…I just…I got locked in here after what I went through…" I looked down. "I need…someone…here…so I at least feel like I'm being celebrated…"

"…If our schedules allow for it, I may consider it." She told me before leaving.

"Kay…" I replied. "Th-thanks for listening…"

I have no idea why I asked that…maybe I just need someone right now…even if it's someone I don't like...

…

I heard footsteps. I walked over to the door.

"Am I being let out?" I asked.

"Shower time." The Octoling guard told me.

"Okay…" I backed away from the door.

The door opened and two Octolings came in, one male, the other female. The female one set a bucket next to the wall while the male one had a spray hose.

"You're kidding…right?" I asked as the girl moved me next to the bucket and removed my uniform for me.

"Nope." The guy said with a smirk as he aimed the hose. "Now, hold still."

"So great to be home…" I groaned right before a full blast of water sprayed me.

 **One Week Later…**

Today is my Birthday…

If Clair meant what she said, I could get a visit…it's been a while now, but I'm sure she'll show…she's supposed to be the responsible leader…

What to do for now though?

I walked over to the door, looking at the guard. Always one or the other. Thankfully, she's not a bad looker.

"Hey, guard." I called her.

"What?" She turned around.

I looked her up and down.

"Thanks." I said.

"For what?" She was confused.

"I just wanted to see if you looked just as fine from the front." I told her.

Her face went red and she immediately turned back around.

Ha…I'm at least going to have fun with this…

I then heard footsteps.

"Clair?!" I called out.

"Don't know who that is, but I'm here." An Octoling Elite came over. He looked familiar. "I just wanted to see the Octopus who…hey, I remember you…"

"Wait…" That prosthetic arm… "Traeger?"

I looked at him more. He seemed to have added some more cybernetics to himself.

"Cassandra." He seemed to have perfect memory considering I only met him once. "So you're the one who went AWOL in order to get us some Zapfish? I must say, I'm impressed."

"Yeah!" I said. "Can you get me out of here?"

"Hm…" He thought of it. "…I can…I'll see what I can do."

He sounded devious when he said that.

Whatever…what time is it, anyway?

"Hey guard," I got her attention. "What time is it?"

"0:30 a.m." She told me.

"It's past midnight?!" I was shocked to hear. "S-so it's…"

"Yep, your birthday's over…" She told me.

I lost track of time? Just like that?

Wait…she didn't show up…heh…figures…

Of course she wouldn't come…

I guess I'm just not worth celebrating...

Well, at least one person will celebrate me.

 **Me.**

…

Happy Birthday to me…


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 **One Week Later…**

At this point, it's been two weeks…

My trial should be soon…

By now, I'm sure I've lost all the weight I've gained from my time in Inkopolis…probably more than that…

What's taking them so long?

Wait, I can hear footsteps.

The same two Octolings who gave 'showers' came in. The chick I didn't mind too much, but the guy was a total perv. Granted I am too, but he always looked at me with 'I want you' eyes and a smirk on his face.

"We're here to drag you out." He said.

"I'm not dragging her." The girl said. "She'll walk as we push her forward."

"Kay…" He sighed.

Sure enough, they were walking me over to somewhere. Occasionally, they'd shove me forward. The guy would often shove me forward harder, more often, and even when I was going a decent pace. I don't like this guy…

Strangely they didn't take me to the a trial room, but somewhere else. It was a room with a desk and two chairs.

"Sit here." The girl told me.

I did as she said.

They then stood at opposite sides of me. Girl on the left, guy on the right. The guy didn't look happy.

I then grinned.

"Why so down?" I turned and asked him. "Sad you'll never get a piece of this?"

"I could've, but she wouldn't let me." He said, narrowing his eyes at the other guard.

"Come on, you could at least act like this is a respectable army." She said.

"This is Octo Gorge." He said. "Everyone knows this place is shell even when compared to the other settlements. No one would've cared. Especially for her."

I want to k…hurt him…

Soon enough, a pair of footsteps was coming. It sounded…partially robotic…

Traeger came in. It was then I noticed the weird, cybernetic patterns on his arm, leg, and one of his eyes.

"Hello, Cassandra." He smiled. "How's prison life?"

"Well, the worst thing that's been in my mouth was the food," I told him. "So not too bad, I guess."

"Well, I've got good news for you." He said while walking over.

"What?" Good news?

"I can get you out of execution and hypnoshades." He told me.

"R-really?!" I stood up. How?!"

"Sit down, and I'll tell you how." He urged me.

I did as he said and he sat across from me.

"Now, I can help you, but you have to sign this form." He handed it over to me.

"Why?" I asked. "What's on this?"

It's a document saying you were on a secret mission given to you by me." He explained. "You had full permission to leave. You weren't jailed for going AWOL, but for violating a nondisclosure agreement."

"Wait…" Something wasn't right… "What do you get out of this?"

"All of the credit and a hefty promotion." He told me.

"What?!" I stood up. "You didn't do shit! That was all me! I didn't go through all that for nothing!"

"Do you want to live?" He asked.

I sat down.

"…Yes…" I replied, eyes wide.

"Then sign." He told me. "It's your only chance…"

"So…I get nothing?" I looked at him. "D-do I at least get promoted?"

"Oh, you will get promoted." He told me. "I won't be the only one getting rewarded for my successful project. You and at least two other randoms will be promoted because no one would believe I'd send you in alone."

True..

Great...Bastard gets all the credit...but I live and get promoted...

I signed it.

He grinned.

"Good choice." He stood up.

He walked over to me and felt one of my hair tentacles.

"I think you and I will be excellent business partners." He said. "Now, unchain this hero who followed my orders to the letter!"

The guards then unchained me.

I felt my wrists, and then punched the guy guard in the face.

"Ow, bitch!" He shouted.

"You deserve that!" I smirked. "And I deserve my promotion."

I turned to Traeger.

"So…will I be an Elite?" I asked, wide-eyed.

"For one mission?" He raised an eyebrow. "No, but you'll most likely be made an Advanced class."

Wait…Advanced means…Violet hair…

"Thank you, Traeger!" I actually hugged him. "You're the best!"

"Yes, I am." He calmly stated. Now, get yourself some non-prison clothes and meet me in Auditorium 5 in two days. You may bring whomever you wish to witness your promotion."

"Yes Sir!" I saluted.

"Good to hear, Cassandra." He walked out. "Keep this up and you'll be living the good life before you know it."

I actually stopped when I heard that. Memories started flooding back…

"Y-yeah…" I replied. "The…good life…"

…

…Maybe next time I'll accept it…

…

"A-anyway," I turned to the gal guard. "You kept Tiny here from having his way with me, so you're officially invited."

"Okay…" She seemed surprised I invited her. "Anyone else?"

"Tiny?" The guy seemed confused by that.

"You look like a Tiny." I said while looking down, then up.

He just narrowed his eyes at me.

Now who else to invite?

Oh!

"Invite my dumb sisters!" I told the girl. "I want to show them I was able to rank up after all!"

"Okay." She nodded her head. "Anyone else?"

I just shook my head. I didn't really know anyone else to invite.

"Alright," She wrote the names down. "See you in two days."

I nodded my head.

Two days…

 **Two Days Later…**

I walked into Auditorium 5.

I saw Traeger at the podium with Tiny standing next to him in silence.

The girl guard was sitting in one of the seats.

"My sisters couldn't show up?" I asked as I walked forward.

"No, they just didn't want to." He said. "We asked; they said no."

Of course…

"Now, ahem…Cassandra," He motioned me forward. "By the powers invested in me as a newly appointed Sector Lieutenant, I promote you to Advanced Class. Good work, Sergeant Cassandra. You may deliver a speech now."

I walked to the podium.

I looked into the audience of…one…

"…Well, it was quite a journey getting here." I said. "I was actually starting to think I would never get promoted. But I did. I managed to do what many only talked about. Infiltrate Inkling society, steal a Zapfish, and…did something else too…"

"Killed an Inkling." Traeger finished.

"Y-yeah…" I confirmed. "W-well…I think I'm done with the speech now…"

"Okay." Traeger got something. "Here's your violet dye. Make sure you reapply every week."

"Y-yes!" I desperately took it.

"A round of applause for Cassandra!" Traeger then did a quick clap.

The girl in the audience did a soft clap.

"Well, that about wraps things up." Traeger said with a smile.

"That's it?" I was surprised.

"Aha! Yeah…" Traeger put an arm around my shoulder. "Well, it's simple. You're pathetic and so was your ceremony."

Ouch…

"But that's a good thing!" He assured me. "You being pathetic means that you'll need me to help you in a way that benefits both of us. Someone as amazing as me and pathetic as you can make a surprising team, partner."

He held his hand out.

I looked at him.

"I…I'll have to think about it…" I told him.

"Oh, no rush!" He said. "Just saying if you need a favor for a favor, I'm your Lieutenant."

"O-Okay…" I'll keep that in mind.

"Well, I still need to eat to live for now, so I'm going to the mess hall." He said. "Feel free to mingle with your guests…guest…singular…because only one showed up."

"I noticed, ass." I glared at him.

"At least you're perceptive!" He then turned to leave. "Goodbye!"

He walked out the door. Tiny followed.

"How do you work with him?" I asked the girl in the audience seat.

"Stiff drinks." She told me.

"I'm not old enough and I hear that dulls your senses." I told her.

"Be around him enough, and you will." She assured me. "He gets worse every time he replaces a part."

"…Who are you, anyway?" I asked.

"I'm Merisse." She introduced herself. "And you seem lonely."

"Yeah…" I confirmed.

"Well, maybe I can help." She said. "After all, you seem like you could use a friend after what you've been through."

A…friend….

"Uh…okay…" I agreed. "Sounds good!"

"Wanna chat in the mess hall?" She asked. "Away from Traeger?"

"Sounds good to me!" I chuckled.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks Kuruvan15 for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and all others who read this story continue to enjoy my works!**

 **Another thing is I meant to mention Kuruvan15 in the previous chapter, but I forgot. I decided I had the next chapter finished though, so why not drop it and mention you there? Anyway, hope everyone enjoys the chapter.**

Chapter 18

 **The Next Week…**

So far has been pretty good. Merisse is pretty nice. She listens to my stories of the surface and doesn't think I'm useless. I mean, I'm Advanced now, so of course I'm not. She's just smart is all. Apparently she and Tiny are on Traeger's personal squad.

I've run into Tiny a few more times. Weirdly enough, he preferred to keep his distance, always looking like he's upset about something. Shell, he never even bothered correcting me when I'd call him Tiny.

I've run into Traeger a few more times too. He's…still an ass…not sure what makes him feel so superior. I heard that having too many cybernetic parts causes you to lose your ability to change forms. I don't know, I guess some people think technology is automatically better.

Well, he gave me this lovely violet color to my tentacles, so I can't hate him too much.

Today was my first day of training recruits. I was already shown what I need to train the recruits in. I was soon sent into the medical wing to retrieve a recruit who I was supposed to train.

I walked into the medical bay, finding…Doctor Murdock Anea. He noticed me.

"Um…I'm here to pick up a recruit for training." I told him.

"Ah, I'll retrieve him." He got up. "Wait a few minutes…"

He then left the room and walked down the hallway.

…

I then heard something from the other room. I decided to check it out.

It was a dark tan Octoling girl with a ponytail.

"-And…done!" The young Octoling girl said. "That's how you apply a bandage…oh, it's you!"

Hey…those glowing red eyes…I recognize her too…

"You're Dr. Anea's girl, aren't you?" I remembered. "Um….Elise!"

"Yup, that's me!" She said. "And I was just showing my new friend some medical know-how."

I looked next to her. It was an Octoling boy. His hair tentacles were stripped.

"And your name is…?" I asked.

"I…don't have one…" He said. "They said I'd have to earn it."

"That's dumb." I said. "You're dumb. How long's Dr. Boy gonna take, anyway?"

"He's retrieving his special patient!" Elise said. "It'll be a few minutes."

"What's so special about him?" I tilted my head.

Before she could answer, the doctor came back with a timid-looking Octoling recruit with a single glove on his left hand.

Why did he look familiar?

"Apologies." The doctor said. "Usually training starts at age twelve, but I found this one…fascinating…it's a good thing Sasha brought him to me."

Sasha…?

The recruit looked up at me, then his eyes widened. He backed away.

"I'm here to take you to training." I told him.

He didn't move.

"I said…" I grabbed his arm. "Move!"

I yanked him out of the room and down the hallway. He started walking forward, clearly not wanting to anger me. Eventually we got to the training grounds.

"Sorry I'm late." I told the other recruits. "This one held me up."

I then shoved the idiot towards the other recruits. They all fell in line.

"Alright recruits, listen up!" I shouted. "My name is Cassandra and I'll be training you. With my help, you'll go from no-name recruits to hardened soldiers! Any questions?"

One recruit raised her hand.

"Yes?" I acknowledged her.

"Weren't you that recruit who couldn't rank up for years?" She asked. "How will we get better with you?"

"W-what?" I was surprised by what she said.

"I'm just asking shouldn't we get a trainer who does well?" She seriously asked.

I walked up to her.

"You callin' me weak?" I narrowed my eyes. "You callin' me pathetic?"

"I'm just say-" She was cut off by a fist in her stomach.

She fell to the ground.

"If there's one thing I won't tolerate, it's sass!" I announced. "Got it?!"

"Y-yes, Sergeant…" She replied as she got back up.

"Now we'll start with the basics, then work your way up to the training course." I said, grabbing a clipboard. "Start with basic drills. Practice punches and kicks."

It was slow, but I managed to get through most of the training session without any sass. Maybe training's another thing I can be good at. At this point, sparring practice was all that was left.

"Come on!" I shouted. "Throw a punch!"

The timid recruit hesitated for a second, but then threw a punch. I actually blocked it easily and knocked him to the ground.

"Wow." My eyes widened. "You're really pathetic, aren't you?"

He didn't respond.

"I'm talking to you." I said.

I then kicked his face.

"Answer me!" I told him.

He just sat there, curled in a ball.

"What kind of soldier ignores a superior officer?" I said with an eyebrow raised.

"Disobedience?" I heard a voice say. "Can't have that…"

I turned to find Traeger walking over.

"Hmmm…" He looked at the recruit. "I think punishment is in order…"

"Yeah…" I agreed. "I finally found a title worthy of some respect, and he doesn't think so…"

"Well, we can't have insubordination." He crossed his arms. "Restrain him."

His personal squad then ran down, grabbed the recruit, and tied him to a pole.

"What's going on now?" I wondered.

"He's undermining your newfound authority." Traeger told me. "So you'll punish him accordingly to set an example."

"And what would be the proper punishment?" I wasn't sure.

"Box!" He called out.

One member of his squad came over with a box. Traeger reached in and handed me something.

A whip.

My eyes widened.

"10 lashes should do." Traeger told me.

"A-are you sure?" I wasn't…

"Sergeant Cassandra…" He walked over. "You're pathetic, but you still have authority over this nobody. You worked hard for that title and can't let him undermine that, right? I mean, your sisters asserted their authority when you acted up…it's only fitting you do the same…"

That…he's…that's right…

I turned to face the recruit.

"Can I do some practice swings?" I asked.

"By all means." He let me.

I took a few swings, cracking the whip. A few times, it almost hit someone. Their fault for being too close…

I then looked at the disrespectful recruit again. He looked scared.

A grin then formed on my face and he was clearly terrified.

"Guess I'm gonna have to punish you." I smirked.

I took one swing. He let out a small yelp.

Wow…

I did it again.

He let out a small grunt in pain.

I then kept swinging the whip. Every lash elicited some kind of pained reaction from him.

"That's enough, Cassandra." Traeger said. "That was 20 lashes."

"Right." I said.

The soldiers then untied that recruit and started dragging him to the medical bay. I walked over to him and stopped them, kneeling in front of him.

"I hope you learned your lesson, runt." I told him. "Don't mess with me."

He didn't respond. He just cried like a baby as he was dragged off.

"I hope you learn from his mistake." I told the other recruits. "Dismissed."

The other recruits scrambled out of there.

"Good…" I smirked.

I noticed Traeger already walked out.

I walked out of the room to find Merisse there.

"Please don't make a habit of that…" She told me.

"What?" I asked. "Punishment? He disrespected my authority and I punished him accordingly."

"You enjoyed that." She pointed out. "You loved hurting him. You would've lashed him more had Traeger not told you to stop."

I frowned.

"Merisse, I get you want to be my friend…and honestly, I want that too…" I let her know. ""But I'm…not a good person..."

"Right…" She took her leave.

"Where're you going?" I asked.

"Somewhere else." She bluntly said.

"You wanna chat later?" I asked.

"No." She answered.

"Why?" I tilted my head.

"Because I expected better from you." She told me. "This sector's going downhill. Our Commander's a senile idiot, our king rarely ever checks on this sector, and now sadists, opportunists, and the utterly insane are taking over. For a second, I thought you'd be reasonable, but you're just like them."

"…I'm just doing what I have to do." I told her. "I need to become an Elite and I'll do whatever it takes to accomplish my goal. I lashed him more than I needed to and I enjoyed it, but if that's how I have to act to get ahead in life, then so be it."

She didn't respond. She just turned and left.

"Fine…" I crossed my arms. "Who needs you, anyway?"

I walked back to the barracks for some shut-eye.

Well, screwed that up...

Whatever...Just stay focused, Cass…just ignore what everyone else thinks. You'll become an Elite someday. Then you'll get the respect you deserve…


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks Lilyanne59 for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and all others who read my stories continue to enjoy!**

Chapter 19

 **Age 18**

Been a year. I kept training recruits and beating down anyone who talked shit. Also ones who didn't talk shit. Heck, sometimes I did it because I felt like it. I didn't feel bad for those runts. They get what's coming to them for being so weak, pathetic, and insubordinate.

I was walking down the hallway and found a one-gloved Octoling.

"Ah, my favorite punching bag!" I walked over to the timid recruit. "I wonder what I'll end up doing to you today?"

As usual, he kept quiet. Little shit can talk. He's just afraid to do so. It pisses me off. And when that happens, I beat the living daylights out of him. It's a never-ending cycle.

"Anyway, we're being called into the auditoriums." I grabbed him. "They're gonna announce something important."

He walked forward with me.

I sighed.

"Y'know, when I first saw you in the medical bay, I couldn't help but think you looked kind of familiar…" I said.

He didn't respond.

"Whatever…" I rolled my eyes.

"Ah, Cassandra." A familiar voice called out. "Off to the Auditoriums, I assume?"

I looked to see it was Lieutenant Sasha. Eyepatch on.

"Y-yes…" I was a bit cautious around her.

"Well, get a move on." She said while walking slightly ahead of us. "We don't have all day."

As I walked, I noticed runt looked even more cautious than me. Shell, he looked terrified of Sasha.

"Uh…Sasha?" I got her attention. "Do you know this recruit?"

She looked back, raising her eyepatch. Her facial expression suddenly changed. The runt was about to turn and run when he was snatched up.

"Aaaawwww!" Sasha squealed. "He's my precious little guy! I found him injured in the sanitation bay and took him right to the doctor and we've been friends ever since!"

The way she was holding him…was like a small Natural girl holding a doll. The runt looked extremely uncomfortable, clearly wanting to get away from her.

"I take him over to medical to make sure he's healthy, I make sure he's safe, and I make sure he feels…loved…" She continued.

Oh Octo…she's squeezing his shoulders…

"Hey, shouldn't we be heading to the Auditoriums?" I said, not wanting to watch her to continue.

She paused for a second before she flipped her eyepatch back down over her eye.

"Why are you still standing here?" She asked. "We're almost late!"

 **A Few Minutes Later…**

We were gathered to hear whatever was going to be announced. Soon enough…the DJ came out?!

We all stood in salute.

"At ease, punks." He said. "Now, the reason I've come here is because one of them Zapfish that was captured just over a year ago was stolen. I've got a feelin' Cuttlefish is behind this."

There were lots of whispers in the crowd. People wondering what this would mean. Some starting to break down because our new power source, small as it may be, was being taken.

The DJ noticed the ruckus in the crowd and started scratching his turntables. I then noticed how the crowd was almost immediately falling silent, swaying to the beat.

Is…is that normal?

"Now, we ain't gonna let some slimy, no good hipsters steal OUR power source, are we?" He asked the crowd.

"No!" The crowd simultaneously replied.

"Well we're gonna set up high security around them." He told us. "Squads'll be selected to make sure those monsters won't get their way! Ya hear that? Y'all are gonna be fighting Inklings now!"

The crowd started cheering.

"Good to hear that enthusiasm!" He said. "Now do yo jobs! DJ out!"

Great…not only did Traeger steal the credit for my work, but now the Inklings are going to erase it.

We were soon assigned to guard the Zapfish. I could see it in the distance, surrounded by Elites.

"This sucks." One Twintacle Octotrooper groaned. "Those Inklings have tons of Zapfish. Can't we be allowed to have a few?"

"They're Inklings." I told him. "They hoard everything to themselves. Everyone else can splat for all they care."

I knew that…wasn't exactly true…but it wasn't untrue either…

"I hope the DJ does something soon." The Twintacle said. "I'm tired domes collapsing on me."

He's been in more than one collapse?

I then noticed the wimp next to me shaking at the mention of a collapse. He must've been in one too.

I noticed one of the Elites getting a call.

"Ready up!" She called out. "Inklings are coming here!"

"Why here?" I groaned. "Why not anywhere else?"

"Because the others have been taken already." She answered.

What…?

"That's right, soldiers!" She shouted. "We're the last line of defense for our power source! Man your battle stations!"

We all hurried to our positions. We were waiting what seemed like forever for Inklings to show up.

"Inklings inkoming!" One Octocopter said.

"How many?" An Elite asked. "A thousand?"

"Negative." He replied.

"Fifty?" She tilted her head.

"Less." He told her.

"Well come on," I shouted. "How many?"

"Two." He told us.

"What?!" We couldn't believe it.

"We're losing to two Inklings?!" I was dumbfounded.

"Apparently…" Another Octoling sighed.

"…Die…" I heard a voice speak. "W-we're going to die…"

I turned to see Punching Bag was losing it. Not surprising, but he's actually talking?

"So you finally say something?" I asked.

"There's no way…" He said. "We're going to die…we're going to go extinct…"

I immediately smacked him.

"Listen here, runt." I pulled him close. "At first I hated you because you were insubordinate and your dead silence pissed me off. Now you finally talk and the first thing you say pisses me off. Cut that out or I'm gonna have to punish you again! Got it?!"

"Y-yes, Sergeant…" He said.

"Now guard that Zapfish!" I ordered him.

"Y-yes!" He hurried over.

I could then hear something in the distance.

 ***Splat***

I heard it again.

 ***Splat***

On no…they're here…

Need to think of something…a trap…

Yeah…I can-

 ***Splat***

An Octotrooper close to me got splatted.

"Gaaaaah!" I started firing wildly.

"Calm down, Cassandra!" An Elite pushed my Octoshot down.

"Where are you?!" I shouted

"Right here!" A voice from above said.

I looked up to find an Inkling with a Roller jumping off of a ledge. The Elite and I both jumped out of the way. When she landed, we could see her in a black outfit with a neon yellow vest, a pink hat, and shades.

"Open fire!" She commanded.

The closest soldiers started firing, but the Inkling girl was too fast for them and they got splatted one by one.

After recovering from the shock of that display, I pulled out my weapon. Just as the Elite got splatted, I was already behind the squid, ready to fire. She noticed, but not before I pulled the trigger.

…

Nothing came out. I ran out of ink after firing wildly like an idiot.

She readied her roller.

I started sniffling.

She looked confused.

"I-I don't wanna do this anymore!" I fell to my knees as I made tears come out. "I just want to go home to my mom!"

"I-it's okay, uh..." She didn't know my name.

"Cassandra..." I wept. "Cass for short..."

"Uh…well…hey, Cass, you can go back, I'm sure." She said. "I mean, I'm just here for the Zapfish. I can leave you be if you want."

"R-really?" I looked at her.

"Yayer!" She grinned.

"Oh, thank you!" I hugged her.

"No problem." She said.

"I mean, I heard Inklings were horrible…" I told her. "But after encountering them myself, I learned something else…"

"What's that?" She seemed curious.

Her eyes widened when her Ink Tank fell off.

"You're all idiots!" I smirked as I grabbed her weapon and tried wrestling it from her grip. We struggled over the Roller for a bit.

"Y-you tricked me!" She shouted.

"And you're an idiot for falling for it!" I told her. "I came out a tube! I don't have a mom, you moron!"

She just looked at me in confusion at that comment.

"H-hey!" I called out. "Anyone else wanna help me splat this…what's your position?"

"Agent 1!" She told me as she pulled the Roller her way. "Of the New Squidbeak Splatoon!"

"Right." I said while pulling the Roller my way. "Now, anyone gonna help?!"

"Oh, Agent 2 must've taken care of them." She guessed.

"Agent…2?" I just remembered what the Octocopter said.

Unfortunately, before I could react, a Charger shot hit me from behind, splatting me. I flew over to the nearest spawn. First mission against Inklings and it was a failure…

 **Aftermath…**

"Thanks Mar-uh…I mean, Agent 2!" Agent 1 said while putting her Ink Tank back on.

"No problem." An Inkling with a hat and mask said. "Octos aren't very hard, are they?"

"Well, if what that one squid told us was true, this should be the last one." Agent 1 remarked.

"Thank Cod." Agent 2 sighed. "This place is creepy and depressing."

"Well, now for the…where's the Zapfish?" Agent 1 asked.

To their surprise, someone had taken it.

"That way!" Agent 2 pointed out a light in the distance.

"On it!" Agent 1 immediately darted over that way.

After a few turns, they had the culprit cornered.

It was a young Octoling recruit.

"Come on, hand it over." Agent 2 said.

"N-no!" He sat there, hunched over it. "Why do you need them all? Can't we just have one?!"

"Just be reasonable, kid." Agent 2 sighed.

"Kid?" The recruit looked at them. "I'm 15…"

"You're older than us?" Agent 1 said, surprised. "D-does that mean she ages well or that we'll age horribly?"

"I don't want to know…" Agent 2 remarked.

"Hey, wait…he's a boy!" Agent 1 noticed. "I only saw girls so far. I was beginning to think Octoling boys didn't exist! Learn something new every day..."

"Just…go away…" The recruit begged.

Agent 1 walked over, putting her Roller down.

"Look, you can't just steal anything you want." Agent 1 said. "Just give us the Zapfish. Maybe we can talk?"

The recruit didn't respond. Agent 1 looked at Agent 2 with a warm smile, then put her hands closer to the recruit.

"Well, if you won't hand it over," She started wiggling her fingers. "I'm gonna have to…ti-SON OF A BLOWFISH!"

Agent 1 screamed when the recruit bit down on her hand.

"Oh, shark!" Agent 2 shouted, wide-eyed.

"GETHIMOFFMEGETHIMOFFMEGETHIMOFFME!" Agent 1 repeated.

Soon enough, Agent 2 aimed her charger, splatting the recruit.

"I guess that's why we haven't seen Octoling boys yet…" Agent 2 said. "Apparently, they're biters."

"Waaaaaaaah!" Agent 1 cried, rubbing her hand.

"Oh right!" Agent 2 remembered. "I'll help you bandage that up, Callie!"

The two agents left shortly after, Zapfish in tow.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks for your interest in this story and I hope you, my other followers, and all others who read this continue to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 20

 **Back at respawn…**

After a few minutes, that wimp respawned. Yeah kid, respawning hurts. Don't act so surprised.

"I can't believe you lost the Zapfish." I crossed my arms.

"Y-you lost it too!" He suddenly showed ink sacs.

"What was that?" I was about to hit him, but the DJ came in.

We saluted.

"Well, ya'll lost." The DJ said. "But now we know Cuttlefish's got some squiddos to do his work for him, the coward. We'll be prepared next time! Good work, I guess…"

Next time...which will be…when?

"Th-thank you, DJ." The runt showed him respect.

"Hey, I saw that footage." The DJ said, turning towards him. "When you bit that Agent, I haven't laughed that hard in years! You're promoted to Intermediate level 15!"

"Th-thank you, Sir!" He saluted.

"Welcome." Octavio turned to leave. "Now, I'm off to the Valley. Tell Octolangelo I said 'hi' because I forgot."

I-Intermediate level 15?! That's close to Advanced. He's a few levels below me! And he failed!

The runt then left the room. I followed him.

"Hey!" I called out.

"What?" He turned around.

I grabbed his arm, pulling him close.

"Don't think this makes you better than me, got it?!" I said. "I'm Advanced! These violet tentacles show my rank! I'm better than you and always will be!"

"Cassandra, don't lie to yourself." He pushed my hand off him.

"W-what?!" I grabbed him and was about to give him a beatdown when he grabbed my hand.

"Don't…touch me!" He said, twisting my arm.

"Ow, ow, ow!" That hurt! "Let me go!"

"Cassandra, listen…" He pulled me closer. "Your actions will have consequences. Something is wrong with this Gorge…I can see it…I will fix it…even if it means getting rid of the bad apples like you."

Getting rid?! What does he mean by that?! Where the shell did this come from?!

"But I can't yet." He then released me. "I'd change my ways if I were you. Watch your back, Cassandra."

"Who…" I glared at him, holding my injured hand. "Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

He turned around and looked me in the eye.

"...Sieg." He said before leaving.

Sieg? What? Who?

Agh! My arm! What was that?! That…how strong is he?! That hurt like shell!

I need to get to the medical bay…

 **Later…**

I soon got my arm fixed and bandaged. I asked specifically for Dr. Anea because I needed answers.

"So how did you injure this?" He asked.

"I didn't…" I told him. "Sieg did."

"…Explain." He seemed genuinely curious.

"Well, first he gets promoted because he made Octavio laugh," I explained. "Then he suddenly thinks he's better than me even though I still outrank him. I actually spent time and hard work to rank up and he gets it just like that!"

"Oh right…you did mention that once, didn't you?" He looked like he knew something. "Struggling to advance?"

"You look like you know something…" I noticed.

"Knowing would only upset you." He told me. "Now what about Sieg?"

…

"…Well, from the injury he gave me, he's stupidly strong." I told him.

"Oh, it's finally working, is it?" He seemed surprised. "For a second, I was beginning to think it was a failure."

"What?" I was confused.

"I tested experimental serums on him." He explained. "They're supposed to enhance one's natural abilities."

Wait…what?

Wait…

"C-can you give them to me?" I asked.

He looked at me, intrigued.

"No." He said.

"Why?!" I demanded an answer.

"As it stands, one has to be given the injections while still in a somewhat early stage of development." He explained. "At this point in life, you're fully grown. It's unlikely it'll work on you."

"Well, why didn't you give it to me before?" I was confused.

"Because it wasn't in a testing phase yet." He explained. I found Sieg as my test subject when Lieutenant Sasha brought him to me, very injured."

Wait…that brat I ran into in the sanitation area years ago?!

"S-so you're saying I was born too early?!" I couldn't believe it.

"No, call it bad luck I suppose." He said.

"Give me those serums!" I demanded. "I need to be an Elite! I deserve this!"

"Rules specify that my experiments are only to be done if the subject has a guarantee of surviving." He told me. "I can't guarantee that if I test on you."

"Y-you…little…" I wanted to hurt him.

"Out, Cassandra." He told me. "I already fixed your injury."

"…I'll be back…" I mumbled.

 **Midnight…**

Alright…I'm somewhat decent at sneaking, so it wasn't too hard to get into his lab.

Now to figure out what I'm looking for…

Let's see…files…files…Sieg!

…Alright, found the names!

And…found the vials!

Alright…it looks like they were injected in the arms…alright…needles…okay…there!

Ha! This doctor stuff isn't that hard.

Hm…guess it takes a bit to take effect…

Well, now to get out of…ugh…kinda stings…

Ack! Now it really stings!

Oh Octo! That stinging is spreading around! All over!

Oh Cod, it hurts!

Everything hurts!

I started screaming. I couldn't stop screaming, it hurt so much. I started crying. Please, someone help!

I could hear footsteps rushing in.

I then blacked out.

 **Sometime later…**

I shot awake. My arms were bandaged. Everything still stung.

"Awake?" The doctor looked at me. "I'm disappointed in you, Cassandra."

"D-did it work?" I asked. "Am I stronger?"

"Cassandra, it's not an instant strength serum." He told me. "It's something that has to be injected over and over again as you develop. You're lucky I was able to stop the effects before you died."

Died?

"I understand you've had trouble advancing." He said. "I suppose I should've told you why in the first place."

"Why?" I wanted an answer.

"There was a glitch in the growth tubes when you were created." He explained. "At first it seemed like no big deal, just being stuck in there for a week. Unfortunately, it also seems to have slowed your development."

"What?" I looked at him. "The tube glitch?"

"Yes, from DNA samples I've gathered, you develop slower than the others." He told me. "Around twice as long as normal."

What?!

"So the reason I struggle advancing is because I was born wrong?!" I shouted.

"If…you choose to look at it that way." He said. "I'd call it an unfortunate result of circumstances beyond your control."

"B-but I'm still advancing." I said. "I'll get to be an Elite eventually."

"Possibly, but it's uncertain." He said.

"What do you mean?" I was hesitant to know.

"You've damaged yourself quite a bit from using those serums on your own." He explained. "I'm not certain of the long-term consequences, but it's possible you've completely stunted yourself. Your dream could be nigh impossible to complete at this point."

What...? But...I...

"No…" I started tearing up. "I…I can't just…I said I would!"

"It's possible you can still be, if unlikely." He said.

"I will…" I said, standing up. "I'll be an Elite. I don't care if I'm a stunted mess. I will be one!"

Agh! Hurts to stand…hurts to walk…

"I recommend resting." He said.

"I'm fine!" I shouted.

"Your sister's expecting to find you here." He told me.

"Clair?" She's the only one who'd show up. "Tell her to beat it. I don't wanna see her."

I started walking slowly down the hallway, back towards the barracks. I don't want to see Clair…I don't want to see-

"Cass!" Clair called out.

"Son of a-"


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

 **Medical Bay Corridors…**

Despite my wishes, I ended up running into Clair anyway. I didn't want to look at her.

"Cassie, why would you do that?" She asked.

"Why do you only visit when something bad happens to me?" I groaned. "To laugh?"

"Answer my question!" She shouted. "What were you thinking?!"

"Shut up!" I shouted. "Just go back to Octo Valley and leave me alone."

"I came here because I was concerned." Oh, that was a lie.

"You don't care about me." I turned to face her. "You left me to rot in a cell and when I was finally getting promoted, you never bothered to show up!"

"We were busy." Was her excuse.

"All of you?!" I shouted. "All of you were busy?! I heard what Traeger said. They asked and you didn't want to!"

"You said not until you're an Elite." She stated.

"And yet you came when I was in prison and now!" I pointed out. "Admit it. You just want to laugh at me."

"Just answer my question." She said. "Why would you do something that stupid?"

"…To get stronger." I answered. "Why else?"

"You can't do that on your own?" She sounded unconvinced.

"Apparently not…" I admitted.

"What are you talking about?" She seemed confused.

"You wouldn't understand…" I told her.

"Just tell me." She told me. "Why do you feel you have to cheat? Why can't you rank up on your own?"

"Leave me alone…" I tried walking past her.

"Talk to me!" She said while grabbing my arm.

"Shut up!" I shouted. "You wouldn't understand!"

"Why not?!" She demanded an answer.

"Because you were born perfect!" I snapped. "Y…you…the others…you're great at everything while I came out wrong…"

"The shell are you talking about?" She didn't know.

"Ask the doctor if you really want to know…" I told her.

I started walking again.

"Cass!" She grabbed my shoulder again. "Explain!"

"Clair…" I stopped. "I screwed up…"

"What?" She seemed surprised by my change of tone. "Are…are you crying?"

Great…she noticed…

"Just…" I brushed her hand off my shoulder. "…Leave me alone…"

I walked back to the barracks.

 **The Next Day…**

I was alone in the barracks practicing taking apart and putting together my Octoshot. I was still in pain, so I wasn't up for training recruits today. Did that runt Sieg go through that same pain when he got those shots?

Disassemble…reassemble…why do we gotta learn to do this? Shouldn't the weapons be fine when we use them?

I heard someone walking this way.

I turned to find Clair.

"What do you want?" I groaned.

"Here." She dropped some papers in my lap.

"What are these?" I looked at them.

"They're applications of a sort." She said. "Civilian Engineer, Rationer, Supply Mover, Living Space planner, and all other kinds of career options one can take."

"And you're giving these to me because...?" I was confused.

"I heard from the doctor about your…condition." She explained. "I believe these could be alternate paths you could do well in."

"But I want to be an Elite soldier." I reminded her. "You know that."

"Cassie, I think it's time to throw in the towel." She told me. "You'll end up getting yourself killed before you become an Elite."

That little-

"You just want me to give up!" I snapped at her.

"Just…think about it." She begged. "Please?"

"...Alright…" I then took the papers and tore them apart. "I thought about it."

She looked at me, dumbfounded.

"Are you that stubborn?!" She shouted.

"You just want me give up!" I stated. "And you gave me this shit here to sway me. Well, I'm not buying it!"

"Do you know how hard it was to get these?!" She asked me. "These…these kinds of positions would usually be available to naturals!"

"Yeah right!" I crossed my arms. "I bet you found those in the trash! Fitting since that's what you think of me! Remember the time you guys threw me in the trash? I do! Well, I'm not trash! I may have hit rock bottom, but that just means I only have one way to go…UP!"

"I'm trying to help you, you ungrateful brat!" She totally lied.

"You never wanted to help me!" I told her. "You and the others never cared about me! If you all did, you wouldn't tell me to give up, insult me, beat me up when I bite back, or leave me behind!

She was silent.

"If you cared, you'd have visited me on my birthday when I asked, but you didn't!" I continued. "If you cared about me, you would've shown up to my promotion, but you didn't! Admit it, you'd rather get rid of me as soon as you can! Since that's clearly how you feel, then why don't you just leave?!"

"You…feel we abandoned you…" She guessed.

"...Just leave me alone..." I said. "Go to the Valley like you always do. I don't care anymore…"

I started walking away. It still hurt to walk.

"Cass, stop!" She shouted. "What is it you hope to achieve from becoming an Elite?"

Respect, you idiot!

"Just go back to Octo Valley and get out of my life!" I told her.

"Cass!" She grabbed my shoulder. "What is it you want from all this?!"

"Get out!" I repeated.

"No!" She said. "Not until you tell me what you want!"

"I want you to get out of my life, YOU BITCH!" I shouted as I pushed her away.

"Sister…please…" She got closer.

"Bitch…"

"Sister."

"BITCH!"

…

"…Anything else you'd like to say to me?" She asked. "Before I leave…?"

I glared at her.

"Yeah…" I did. "I hate you…I hate you and I hope you die in a dome collapse…"

I then continued to walk down the hallway.

Away from her.

How dare she? I've been working my ass off to become an Elite, done things I never thought I'd do, finally advanced, and she still wants me to give up!

I'll call her a lot of things, but from now on, sister won't be one of them…

I don't have any…

They hated me from the start and I hate them too.

I'll show you, Clair…I'll be an Elite and you and the others won't be laughing behind my back anymore…


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

 **Age 19**

I was in the barracks training recruits. Well, beating down one who bumped into me. Serves you right, punk.

"Now what do you say?" I asked.

"S-sorry…" She weakly answered.

"Good…" I grinned. "Now back in line, runt!"

She did as she was told.

Weak, pathetic runts…who needs 'em? They'll never amount to anything. They should just give up already…

"Now that that's out of the way," I stared. "Time for lu-"

I was cut off when the lights did.

"…I…think we should leave…" I said.

I was correct when the emergency lights came on.

"Alright, this way!" I led them down the hallways. "Move!"

As we rushed down the hallways, I could see several pipes starting to bend and crack.

The dome was collapsing…

Luckily, we were fairly close to an exit.

"Into the kettles, into the kettles!" I waved them down the end of the hallway.

Some started freaking out when the floor started getting covered in water.

One slipped.

"Oh, for the love of…" I grabbed her. "If no one else was here then you'd be dead, you useless runt!"

I pulled her into the kettle with me. The sounds of other soldiers followed behind us.

On the other side of the kettle were other Octarians, confused to why we were there.

"Dome collapse." I told them as other Octarians were coming in behind us.

Some were going to inform the higher-ups while others were trying to help the other survivors.

I on the other hand, decided to head back to my barracks. My work was done.

I just got back to the pods when I heard footsteps behind me.

I turned to see it was that recruit I picked up.

"…What?" I stared at her.

"Why'd you help me up?" She asked. "You beat me to the ground less than a minute ago and you help me up?"

"What?" I shrugged.

"I thought someone like you would love to see someone like me get killed." She said.

"I'm sadistic, not murderous." I told her. "Now let me sleep."

I crawled into the pod and gripped Octo-Samurai plushie.

I then heard the pod door open.

"Hold on, I don't-" She paused. "Is that an Octo-Samurai plushie?"

"I'm a fan, alright?" I glared at her. "Now let me sleep."

"How big a fan?" She was oddly curious.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, annoyed.

She then lifted up her armored plate, showing she was wearing the Octo-Samurai crop top.

"Someone as dishonorable as you is a fan?" She narrowed her eyes.

"He's hot, alright?" I rolled back over. "I like the strong, silent types. Now leave me alone."

"…What was your favorite fight?" She asked. "Before he joined the army?"

"The Octomonger fight where he tag-teamed with Octo-Knight." I answered. "Now can I please sleep or do I have to kick you in the face?"

"One more question." She insisted. "How do you show your appreciation?"

"I wrote some Haiku." I grabbed a small notebook and shoved it in her face as proof. "Now piss off."

"...You suck at haiku-Ow!" She received a boot to the head. "...Yeah, I deserved that...well, later..."

She then shut the pod door.

Finally…

 **Later…**

I hate when domes collapse…the pod rooms are always crowded with people who never shut up.

Point these losers to a bed and get it over with.

"Cassandra!" A familiar voice said.

I opened my pod door to find Merisse.

"What do you want?" I asked. "I thought you didn't like me anymore."

"I don't, but thought you'd like to know they're picking out a new Sector Lieutenant." She told me. "One died in the collapse."

"Oh, who kicked the bucket?" I was curious to know.

"Lieutenant Sasha." She answered. "Official statement is she died a hero, holding a floodgate open so others could escape."

"And unofficially?" I wondered.

"The reason I decided to tell you this." She said. "It's rumored that she was killed during the chaos by a recruit of yours."

To be fair, I doubt anyone will miss her…wait…

"Which one…?" I was hesitant to know.

"I believe his name was Sieg." Oh Octo… "He's been ranking up pretty quickly. In fact, he's on the list of candidates to replace her."

"Oh Octo…" I couldn't believe it. "A-and you decided to tell me this because…?"

"Just warning you to watch your back." She stated. "Some of the people you've hurt might be in positions of power soon. Just hope they don't hold grudges."

She then took her leave.

Oh Cod…

He's gonna be a Lieutenant…I just know that out of all the candidates, he'll be the one they pick…

…Thankfully, he won't be able to do anything to me since I'll still be outside his jurisdiction.

I'm still under Traeger's jurisdiction.

I…need to stretch my limbs…

 **Two Months Later…**

I keep failing advancement tests. I must've actually been stunted from those serums…

I just finished another session with some rookies when I saw something on a wall.

The Sector News updates.

What caught my eyes was…one headline…

Dr. Murdock Anea to be put on trial for treason…

Let's see…as I expected…one of the accusers is Lieutenant Sieg…

If how much his serum hurt was an indicator of anything, as well as taking it over and over again, I'd guess he's holding a grudge…wait…would…he hold a grudge against…me…?

Let's see…Sasha's…advances from her creepily affectionate split personality, Dr. Anea's experiments…

And I…Oh…h-he can't do anything to me though…like I told myself before, I'm under Traeger's jurisdiction, not Sieg's...

Uh…just in case…I'll visit Traeger…ugh…I threw up in my mouth a little from thinking about him…

Let's just get this over with…

 **10 Minutes Later…**

I made it to Traeger's office, but he wasn't there…Tiny was nearby though, but he was talking to someone.

"Hey, Tiny!" I called out. "Get your pervy ass over here! I wanna ask ya something!"

"Tiny?" An Octoling girl next to him asked. "Did she call you Tiny?"

He looked at me in shock, as if I was the last person he wanted to see.

"H-hello, Seargeant…" He said. "Looking for Traeger?"

"Yeah." I said. "Who's this, Tiny? Please tell me you aren't perving on her…"

"Perving?" She looked surprised. "No, I'm his wife, Angela. He's just helping me move a few things."

Wife? Wait…

My gaze returned to him. He gave me an expression that was begging me to not tell his wife a word.

"How do you two know each other?" Angela asked.

"Traeger promoted me and he was there." I told her. "I teased the carp out of him…Tiny…"

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Well, his names Allen, not Tiny." She told me.

"Yeah, I just call him Tiny because he looks like one." I motioned my eyes in a way she could understand.

"Oh…well, he's not a 'Tiny'." She told me. "I can tell you that…"

"Oh…" Surprising.

"He's more of a speedy!" She quipped.

I immediately burst out laughing.

Allen's face was completely red and he looked pissed.

"I-I'm going to help Cassandra a sec, sweetie! I'll get back to you later!" He immediately pushed me down the hallway. After about a minute, we were out of earshot of her. He then pulled me into a closet.

"Aren't you taking me to Traeger?" I asked.

"I shouldn't do anything for you!" He told me.

"Geez, lighten up, Speedy." I said.

"Please don't embarrass me," He begged. "She does that enough…"

"So wait…how long was this going on?" I wondered. "How long were you with her?"

He didn't answer that.

"Oh Octo…" My eyes widened. "You wanted to get with me while you were a committed octopus!"

He was silent.

"And why would that be, I wonder?" I was curious.

"I...I'm not exactly in a great situation…" He answered. "We didn't get married under the best conditions..."

"Let me guess, baby was coming before you tied the knot?" I guessed. "And as time went on, you realized you didn't like her all that much...am I in the right ballpark?"

His silence said everything.

"I...just wanted something else..." He admitted.

"You wanted me." I stated.

"You were a desperate prison girl and it was tempting." He told me. "I mean, you being an infertile tubeling meant I wouldn't be stuck with yet another kid. Plus you're much hotter than my wife…"

I'm hotter than her? I mean, she wasn't a bombshell, but...

Wait…

"Aawww…you wanted me to get your mind off your troubles." I leaned towards him.

"W-what are you doing?" He seemed nervous.

"Could you please take me to Traeger?" I asked, innocently.

"He's in a meeting with the other Lieutenants." He told me. "I can't just do that."

"Come ooonnn…" I begged. "Would you do it for a kiss?"

His eyes widened.

"Heh…" I solely wrapped my arms around him, one hand on the back of his head. "So…is that a yes?"

He blinked a few times. He didn't answer, but didn't move either. He didn't even bother to stop me.

I pressed my lips against his and he leaned in and put his arms around me too.

I stopped it when he started getting a little hands-y.

"That's all for now…" I told him while putting a finger on his lips. "Now…can you take me to Traeger?"

"Yes…" He agreed.

"Thank you." I smiled.

He then opened the closet door, checking both ways, then led me down the hallway.

Heh…I think I found a new way to make people do what I want…


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks JohntheHood for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and all of my other readers continue to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 23

 **A Few Minutes Later…**

We were finally at…the Commander's office…

What are they doing here?

"Think we'll be allowed in?" I asked Speedy.

"I said I'd take you where he is, not take you inside the Commander's office." He crossed his arms.

I then put one arm on his chest and another behind his head.

"Come on…for me?" I got closer. "Allen?"

And like the good boy he is, he opened the door.

"Just wait until they're done with their meeting before speaking with Traeger." He told me.

I smiled and patted him on the head before we went in. Good boy.

We both sat down as we saw the three different Sector Lieutenants discussing…the Sector Commander.

"-His mind is obviously failing and has been for years." Sieg told the others. "The insane, the sadistic, and the opportunistic have ruled the Gorge long enough. We need to convince him to retire."

He then noticed I was in the room.

"…Speaking of insane, sadistic, opportunists, why are you here, Cassandra?" He glared at me.

Oh Octo…the venomous way he said my name just oozes distaste for me. Don't make eye-contact…

"I'm just here to talk to Traeger after the meeting." I told him. "I won't interrupt, carry on."

"…Anyway…" He turned back to the other Lieutenants. "Your thoughts?"

"If it means I can surveillance the Gorge more efficiently, I'll be for it." Gant tiredly said.

Geez, that guy spends too much time in front of the monitors. Get some sleep, loser.

"If he were to retire, we'd need someone to replace him." Traeger pointed out. "The choices would be the three of us."

"Not it." Gant said. "I'm fine with my job."

Yeah, you have enough on your hands.

"Right." Traeger nodded. "So it'll be between you and me, Sieg. Now, My full name is Yan Octavian Traeger. Meaning I have an advantage from my blood relations. Unless you were hiding being born from a royal tentacle, I'm not sure you have as much a chance as I do."

"Traeger, I'll convince them based on policy, not blood." Sieg told him. "Just because it worked for your sister doesn't mean it'll work for you. You know, for someone who speaks highly of his superior technology, you're oddly comfortable with using your biological birth to your advantage."

"Tell you what, Sieg." Traeger said, walking over to him. "Maybe we should spar over it. Your 'enhanced' biology vs. my superior technology. Deal?

He held his and out.

Sieg then grabbed his hand.

"I'm glad you agree." Traeger smirked.

"I'm not agreeing" Sieg replied.

Traeger looked confused before noticing sparks coming from his hand and it was slowly getting bent inward. Sieg then released his hand, a bent, broken, unusable mess.

"Let's say a spar wouldn't' end well for you." Sieg remarked. "Now, first we need to figure out how we'd get him to step down as one of us can only three ways for him to retire are if he chooses to do so, is ordered to do so by the king, or if he dies."

"The last may not be too bad for you, Sieg." Traeger quipped.

"Want me to break your other arm?" Sieg glared at him.

Traeger said nothing. He just glared back at Sieg.

"I don't kill people for their positions." Sieg told everyone. "Octolangelo XV isn't a bad man. His age is just getting the best of him. My question is how would we convince him to step down and/or how would we convince the King to come relieve him of duty?"

"How indeed…" Another voice pondered.

We all looked over to see the Aging old mustachioed Octotrooper was suddenly at his desk.

"Commander!" Sieg and the others saluted. "We didn't see you come in…"

"That's because I'm Maaaagiiic!" Our Sector Commander whimsically replied.

Everyone in the room just stared at him, trying to process what he just said.

"A-anyway…" Sieg tried recovering from that. "Any ideas?"

"Gertrude!" Octolangelo called out to his assistant, who just entered the room. "Help the lad with his problem!"

"Um…my name's Zachary." His assistant told him. "I believe this is the third time I've told you…today…"

"Sorry lads, Gertrude's not feeling it today." Octolangelo turned to the rest of us. "Maybe I'll ask my neighbor Octomanuel if he can help you lads! He's a right bully fellow!"

Not sure who Octomanuel is, but from the look of Zack's face, I'm guessing he's been dead a while.

"Clearly there's nothing to be gained from this conversation at the moment." Sieg admitted. "We'll continue this later."

"Oh, bring some brownies next time, please!" Octolangelo said. "I love me some of Mrs. Seastews homemade batch…"

No one responded to that. We all just left the office.

"Traeger!" I called out as I followed him.

"Leave me alone." He told me. "I need to get this fixed."

"Can we talk while you get it fixed?" I asked.

"…Fine…" He reluctantly agreed. "So what do you want?"

"Well, Sieg is obviously going after people who've…let's say he hasn't gotten along with." I started. "Sasha, currently the Doctor, and I'm thinking that after that, his target will be…"

"You?" He correctly guessed.

I nodded.

His cheeky smile returned.

"So you want a favor from me…" He guessed correctly again.

"I'm under your jurisdiction, but that could change if the change in leadership does happen soon." I said. "I just need an out in-case Sieg becomes Commander."

"A-haha…" He got closer. "And like the lost sea slug finding its master, you come back to me…"

He was starting to creep me out now.

"Oh Cassandra." He put his hand on my chin. "Sometimes I just…imagine a collar around your neck as I pull your leash…"

"Heh…didn't know you were into that…" I managed to quip.

"Huh…uh..oh…a..aha…ahahaha..." He started laughing. "A-HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It was weird…he was laughing like he heard a good joke.

"Must've been a really good joke, huh?" I replied.

"Aaaaaahhh…Oh Cass…you misunderstand…" He shook his head. "You're the joke…"

"Huh?" I tilted my head.

"Cassandra, from all the times I've seen you, not once was I ever attracted to you…" He told me. "I was saying more like a master keeps his pet on a short leash.

"I'm not a pet!" I crossed my arms. "Shell, if Sieg managed to bust your mechanical hand, maybe it ain't as cracked up as you built it up to be!"

Sis smile dropped. He then grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back.

"Ow!" I hissed in pain. "What's the big-"

I was cut off when his foot went straight into my stomach. I fell to the ground.

"Cassandra, let me tell you your place in this world…" He said, pulling my head up by my hair. "I am superior to everyone and you're inferior to everyone! I offered partnership because you'd potentially do something to help yourself that could benefit me as well."

Quit grabbing my hair!

"I say partners, but we are not equal." He kept talking. "I stand on top of the mountain whilst you are the worm that lives in the ground. You're pathetic, but you do serve a purpose."

"Stop calling me pathetic!" I hissed.

"Shut up and listen!" He growled, pulling my hair harder. "I'll help you, you weak…pathetic…little…parasitic…worm…but you'll have to pay me back in the future. Got it?!"

"I'll pay you back!" I told him. "Just make sure I don't die!"

"Good." He let go of me. "Now come with me. It's best the Professor has a second set of hands at his age."

"F-fine…" I replied.

Bastard…


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

 **Shortly after…**

We arrived at the labs, passing many of the larger ones for one of the smaller ones.

"Doc!" Traeger called out, sitting in a chair. "I need repairs!"

A door then opened and an elderly Octoling man came out. He had his hair-tentacles tied back and a full beard. At this point of his life, all the color left his hair.

"O-oh, Yan my boy…" He slowly walked over. "My…how did you damage this?"

"Sieg did." Traeger said in an annoyed tone. "I also need an upgrade."

"That will take some time…" The professor told him.

"I don't care." Sieg groaned. "Just do it."

The old octopus sighed as he took the metal arm into the other room.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Professor Stewart Commons." He told me.

"I thought he died." I replied.

"No, just faded into obscurity." He replied. "His genius is still intact though. He helped make me what I am now."

An ass? No, I think you did that yourself.

After a minute, the professor came back.

"I will...work on the upgraded version." He told Traeger.

"And it better be stronger." Traeger told him. "Cassandra, help him. At his age, he needs the assistance."

"Right…" I guess…

At that point, it was just me and the old man in his workshop. It was weirdly quiet outside of the times when he'd ask me to find a part or tool for him. Outside of that, I'd look around the place.

There were lots of cybernetic parts and blueprints. Some for many of the improvements made on technologies we use today, others were pieces for Traeger. It was a pretty dark workroom, so I'd occasionally turn on a lamp wherever I found one.

At one lamp, I found a picture of two smiling people. It was the professor, though with some black color to his hair. He must've been an Elite back in his day...lucky...and next to him was a young Octoling with a cybernetic arm. I quickly figured out who that was.

"He was such a nice boy…" Stewart said from the table he was working at.

He wasn't even looking in my direction. He seemed to just know I was looking at the picture.

"I doubt that." I replied.

"Oh…h-he was." He assured me. "I helped him…and he was very grateful to me. He was like…the son I never had."

"Helped him?" I was confused. "How?"

"Well," He sat up. "He was born…different, let's say. He couldn't transform until he was 16 years old and he had a…crippled arm that had a strange…disease on it that started turning his skin and muscles into bone."

Bone?

"He…had to have it amputated and he was treated for the disease." He continued. "I was…on the team that helped him. I gave him a new arm and we grew rather close. Until…he wanted more."

"How?" I asked, pulling up a chair.

"He felt he still wasn't good enough…and wanted some more metal pieces to keep up." He explained as he worked. "He...had me replace more and more. He never wanted to stop until he was…'perfect'."

"Couldn't you just say 'no'?" I tilted my head.

"I have tried." He told me. "I have tried convincing him he was…fine the way he was. I have tried…refusing to build for him. But he…begged, pleaded, guilt-tripped me, threatened me, and the last time I said 'no,'…he gave me this."

He opened his mouth to show a chip in his beak.

"Eh, I gave people worse." I replied.

"Oh, I have heard of you..." He knew. "Many soldiers seem to…share some similarities with their superiors...and the people they grow up around. I have…heard of your behavior and why it exists. I am…sorry about what happened to you."

"Don't be." I told him. "I'm not a good person. I know that and accepted it."

"You can be…" He replied. "I believe deep down, you can be…I believe Yan…deep down…is still the Yan I remember. I just…hope I will live long enough to see it again. These days…there's not much of him left."

"Well, at least I get why he's such an ass." I grinned. "He was born wrong too."

"No one is born wrong!" He turned and shouted at me. "Don't you ever think that!"

I was surprised by that outburst.

"…I…already saw what happened to someone who believed that." He told me, stopping to catch his breath. "Beautiful young girl like you…? Don't be like him."

"Why are you so concerned about me?" I tilted my head. "No one else is."

"Someone has to be…" He remarked.

I...okay...

He then pulled something out of a drawer.

"I…always ask him if he wants to go back…" He turned to me. "Now, he always refuses and calls me a stupid old man, but…if you're going to serve under him, take this."

He handed me some sort of key.

"If he ever wants to go back, that key opens a certain lab of mine...he knows the one..." He explained. "There's…a way for him to go back in there…"

"And you're giving this to me because…?" I was confused.

"I am reaching my ninth decade…" He told me. "Despite my wishes…I may not be here for much longer…"

"I…uh…thanks?" I took it.

"You may leave now…" He said. "I can do the rest myself…"

Don't have to tell me twice…that was getting depressing…

Guess I have this for Traeger though…not sure how he'd 'go back,' but whatever…

 **Two Days Later…**

It was time to pick up Traeger's new arm. Me, Merisse, Speedy, and Traeger himself were going to pick it up.

"-And it's simply murder trying to do that one-handed." Traeger told me. "Now, he has spares, but if it's not the best, I'm not using it."

"Right…" Why am I even here?

Why do we need four people here?

We opened the door to find the professor on the ground.

"Professor?" Traeger walked over to him and checked him.

The rest of us weren't sure what to make of this.

"Sir?" Merisse walked over. "I think he's…"

"He is…" Traeger said, getting up. "…He finished the arm though…"

He grabbed the mechanical arm and put it on.

"A-any words, sir?" Speedy asked.

Traeger than turned to Stewart on the ground.

"You…" His fists were shaking. "How…how can you just die and leave me like that?! Why?! You managed to transplant my entire consciousness to a chip and you couldn't have done the same for yourself?! What is wrong with you?! You were supposed to help me! To upgrade me! To help me become perfect and you just up and died?! You've stunted me, you miserable old man!"

He then started kicking him.

"I HATE YOU!" He was shouting. "YOU MISERABLE-FUCKING-OLD-MAN!"

He then stopped. I couldn't help but notice he did shed some tears, but quickly wiped them away.

"Bury him…" He told his guards.

"B-but…sir…" Merisse objected. "Why insult him like that? He's helped you…doesn't that deserve a cremation on the surface?"

Traeger then pulled Merisse by her shirt.

"If he wanted to help me, he wouldn't have let himself die on me!" He told her. "BURY HIM!"

Traeger then let her go and stomped out of the room, only to be stopped by an Elite Soldier.

"What do you want?!" Traeger growled.

"All high ranking personnel to the Commander's office." She said. "The DJ's here."

"What?" He was confused. "Why?"

"He's wondering why someone would put in a request for his presence in the 'song request' messaging system." She told him.

"…Sieg." Traeger quickly deduced. "Granted, that's one of the few ways to get his attention, so I have to hand it to him."

Traeger then left.

"…What happened here?" The Elite asked us.

"Professor Stewart Commons has passed away." Merisse informed the Elite. "Schedule him for a cremation on the surface."

"Will do." The Elite then turned and left. "I'll have a squad retrieve him."

"But," I looked at Merisse. "Sieg said…"

"I know what Sieg said." Merisse told me. "Stewart was a good man. I don't know what he saw in an asshole like Traeger, but he doesn't deserve to be buried further…"

True…

I then followed the other two out.

Well, it's a good thing Stewart left me this key when he did.

I doubt at this point that Traeger will ever want to go back though…


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

 **The Next Day…**

"-And it's a great honor that I humbly accept the position of Sector Commander." Octolangelo said into the microphone. "I hope I can help give you a bright future for the entire settlement."

Pretty much everyone in the room was either sighing or facepalming. The DJ was rubbing his temples in frustration.

"…Sir…" Zachary leaned in. "This is supposed to be your resignation speech. You're retiring."

"It is? I am?" Octolangelo turned to him. "Well then, see ya!"

He hopped off the podium.

"Come on, Gertrude!" Octolangelo shouted. "I'm gonna partyyyyy!"

He then ran out the side door while Zachary slowly followed him.

"He did not age well…" Octavio sighed as he took to the podium. Well, Imma let y'all in the Board of Elites decide yo new Commander. Pick from yer three-"

"I'm not running." Gant interrupted.

"Two options of Sector Lieutenant Candidates." Octavio corrected himself. "Have fun with that. PIECE OUT!"

He then took his leave.

 **10 Minutes Later…The Barracks**

It's lunchtime, but I'm not hungry…

I need to think of something…

The next Sector Commander will be either a deranged sociopath who sees me as a pet, or a vengeful tank of an Octopus who'll kill me when given the chance.

I'm nearly hyperventilating…

I need to calm down…

I need…

"Hey, Cassandra?" It was Speedy.

He'll do.

I pulled him over and immediately started sucking face.

Eh…I guess he isn't a bad kisser…wait…

"Hey, Allen?" I looked at him. "Can you help me with something?"

"W-what?" He clearly wanted to get back to the make-out session.

"I'm scared…" I said, putting my head against his chest. "I don't wanna be Traeger's pet and Sieg'll kill me…"

"Well, you can always transfer." He told me. "You are Advanced class, after all."

"D-do you know of any positions?" I asked.

"Oh, don't worry…" He said, pulling me closer. "I won't let anything happen to you…"

"EXCUSE ME, WHAT IS THIS?!" A voice yelled out.

We both turned to find it was…his wife, Angela…

"N-nothing, sweetie!" Speedy shouted. "I was going to help her transfer!"

"Oh, she's transferring, alright, and you'll help her get out of here!" She shouted. "So how long has this been going on?! What have you two done behind my back?!"

"Nothing more than a make-out session." I told her. "I'd never let this loser get past first base."

"W-wait…" He looked at me, surprised. "You weren't?"

"YOU WANTED TO?!" Angela shouted.

"I-I can explain!" Speedy tried saving himself.

"Oh, no you don't!" She grabbed him by the ear. "You're coming with me!"

Speedy was then dragged off by the ear.

"Think I'm not enough for you?!" Angela shouted. "I'll show you I'm more than woman than an idiot like you deserves and you should feel lucky to have me!"

Well, that happened…

Still…I need to think…I need to-

Some loser recruit then bumped into me.

"Watch where you're going!" I grabbed the runt and started beating her down.

After a few hits, someone caught my hand.

I looked behind me to find…him…

"…I remember suggesting you change your ways…" Sieg remarked. "I guess some people never change."

I could see the runt I was beating was fully expecting me to get killed there…and smiling.

"I can't do anything about you…yet…" Sieg said. "But you aren't untouchable. Dr. Anea's new hypnoshades are proof that he wasn't…and neither are you."

H-hypnoshades?!

He then let me go.

Oh Octo…Oh Cod…

I…I need to transfer…now.

 **The Next Day…**

I made it to Traeger's office.

Unfortunately, he's my best bet…

"Traeger?" I entered the room.

"Hm?" He seemed to be plugged into a computer. "Yes?"

"...What were you doing?" I was confused.

"Oh, just a hobby of mine." He said. "I plug myself in here and search for different signals and mainframes. It could do us well if we decide to hack into the Inklings' security systems. So why are you here?"

"I want to transfer to another Settlement." I told him.

"But why would you want to leave?" He asked. "I'm protecting you from big, scary Sieg."

"You can't do that forever." I said. "Sieg'll be Sector Commander and he'll kill me."

"You have no faith in me, do you?" He tilted his head.

"Traeger, no one likes you." I sighed. "They won't vote you in."

"I'll achieve it." He assured me. "They can't refuse someone as superior as me."

"Traeger…" I looked at him. "I know you were born a diseased cripple. Stewart told me."

He fell silent.

"I know that you weren't fully formed until you were 16." I continued. "I can see now that we're actually alike…we were both born inferior to others and hate everyone else…and that's why you bother keeping me around."

"…Heh…Cassandra, that's not why I keep you around…" He chuckled.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Cassandra, we are nothing alike…" He walked over. "I became stronger while you, if anything, became weaker.

"…I also have something…" I reached in my pocket. "From the professor."

He stopped.

I showed him the key.

"He gave this to me in case you ever wanted to...go back…" I told him.

"…Cassandra, the old man should've thrown that away because I'll never go back." He smirked. "I was pathetic before and I don't regret improving myself. I keep your pathetic ass around as a reminder of what I was. Of what I never want to be. A pathetic little parasitic burden on everyone else."

Stop calling me pathetic…

"C-can I just get a transfer?" I sighed.

His smile dropped.

"Fine…" He relented. "See Allen for a transfer."

"Just like that?" I was confused.

"You'll come crawling back…" He remarked. "I know you will."

I left the office after that.

I found Speedy a few doors down.

"Hey," I greeted him. "I need a transfer."

He looked up at me.

"Sure." He started typing on a computer. "Where?"

"Anywhere that has an available position!" I told him.

He typed in the computer.

"Okay…a squad will transfer you first thing after a new Sector Commander is picked.

Good.

"I'm guessing you'll miss me?" I put my arms around his shoulders.

"No." He blankly said, swatting me away.

"What?" I was confused. "Why?"

"I'm happily married to my lovely wife." He replied. "She's all I need in life."

"You've changed your tune…" I noticed. "What'd she do to you?"

He didn't answer. He didn't even make eye-contact.

"Oh, it's you…" It was Angela, just coming in. "Hussie…"

"I'll have you know, I'm only here to transfer out of here." I told her.

"Good." She replied. "My husband doesn't want you anymore anyway. He was properly punished and then I helped him out and now he's learned to stick with me. "

I got closer.

"What did you do to him?" I was curious.

"…What didn't I do to him?" She replied.

Oh shit…

"Let's just say he learned to commit." She remarked.

I walked out of the room after that. I was still kind of curious as to what exactly she did to him, but I feel neither person would tell me.

Well…I'll be out of here soon, so it doesn't matter.

 **Three Days Later…**

Well, Sieg became Sector Commander. I couldn't care less though since the Transfer squad was escorting me out to the next settlement.

"So where're we going, anyway?" I asked one of the Twintacles.

"Octo Valley." He answered.

Octo Valley?

That's quite the distance…

Well, at least I won't die…

Ha! You hear that, Sieg?!

I beat you!

…

It took a while, but we arrived. We were just outside the barracks.

"Alright, you are going to be training troops starting tomorrow." The Twintacle told me. "Good luck, Sergeant Major Cassandra."

"Sergeant Major?" I was surprised. "I'm being promoted?"

"Some of the higher-ups heard of you and decided to promote you to a reasonable position." He explained.

"B-but I thought I didn't get any credit for that mission…" I was confused.

"Mission?" He raised an eyebrow. "I meant your relation to C-Group. They believe it's good to have another promising soldier in the valley."

C-Group?

No…

"Um…where's my pod?" I asked, hesitant to know the answer.

"Right over here." He led me over to it. "The higher-ups figured it'd be great to keep you all together."

My eyes widened when I saw where it was…

Who was next to it…

"Hey, Clair!" Cynthia noticed me. "Is that who I think it is?"

The rest then turned their heads to find me standing there.

"Cassie…" Clair spoke, surprised. "I…see you've come back to us…"

You've got to be kidding me…


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks BhevHD for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads this continues to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 26

 **Octo Valley…**

"So what are you doing here?" Catherine asked. "I thought you didn't want us seeing you until you became an Elite."

"Shut up." I said. "I'm tired…"

I went straight into my pod.

I can't believe this…

I figured I might run into them here, but I got stuck with them again?!

Why are they even together? Are they glued to the hip or something?

"Cassie, we have an honest question." Clair said, tapping on the pod door. "Why are you here?"

"I said I wanted out of Octo Gorge." I replied. "Apparently, I should've been more specific. Now leave me alone, bitch."

"Why'd you want out of the Gorge?" She asked. "It was far away from us like you wanted."

"Reasons!" I groaned. "Now leave me alone, bitch!"

"I'd suggest not calling her that." Catherine butted into the conversation.

"I'm sorry, did I ask for another stupid bitch to annoy me?" I rolled over. "No? Then leave me alone!"

"Sister, please…" Clair sighed.

"I don't have sisters!" I shouted. "Just a bunch of pains that happened to came from the same tube."

"…Right…" Clair gave up.

"…Maybe I should teach you another lesson…" Catherine said, opening the pod door. "For old time's sake…"

"What part of leave me alone don't you understand…?" I sighed as I pulled the pillow over my head. "I just want to be left alone…"

Oddly enough, she showed restraint this time…Maybe Clair stopped her, maybe she decided I wasn't worth it…I didn't care…

I just…need some sleep…

 **The Next Day…**

It wasn't long before I was training recruits. I went through the motions of giving them the basics.

I noticed some of my sisters were watching me train the recruits. Judging me. I hate them…

I decided to sit on the benches, watching the stupid recruits go through the training course.

"Jealous seeing them complete the course faster than you did?" Carly asked.

"Why would I be jealous of them?" I asked. "I'm Advanced class. I'm already better than them."

"That'll change before you know it…" She rolled her eyes.

"Do you know what I've had to do to get my rank?!" I snapped. "I've experienced more in a week than you've ever done! I earned these and you still demean me! I ranked up and you act like it means nothing!"

"Tell you what," She leaned in. "Beat one of us in a fight and we'll consider it."

"I will!" I told her.

"Catherine," Carly turned. "I think Cass wants a rematch!"

"Alright." She agreed. "Center of the training area. Ten minutes."

I went to the locker area…

I'm outclassed in terms of…well…she's Catherine…

But I have my wit…

These gloves? How about some pieces of metal in the knuckles.

How about a hidden wire to trip her with?

How about some…aha! Dust to throw in her ugly eyes!

She acts so prideful…I'll bring her down a notch!

I soon returned.

She took a stance.

I took one too.

She went forward and took a swing. I ducked and threw the dust. I took her temporary blindness to punch her in the face and stomach. I retreated back when it looked like she was getting her bearings. Dropping a little something down…

"You…little…" She turned and went forward only for me to pull the wire, tripping her.

I took that moment to start beating her.

"You must be a real idiot if you expect your opponent to play fair, Cathy!" I taunted. "Look at you now! Bruised and bleeding! I win!"

She soon caught one of my fists and tripped me over. I rolled back a reasonable distance and got back up. She was pissed.

"Any more tricks?" She asked.

"Why don't you come over here and find out?" I replied.

Hopefully she'll take my bluff.

She darted forward. She did not take my bluff…

I actually managed to dodge some of her blows and get some hits in, but she still managed to kit me a ton. After a bit, she then grabbed my gloves and yanked them off.

She glared at me after watching the tiny pieces of metal fall out of the gloves.

I gulped.

It wasn't long before she had the upper hand again and knocked me down

"Alright!" I shouted. "I yiel-"

 ***BAM!***

I blacked out.

 **Later…**

I woke up in the same spot…of course they'd leave me there…

Clair seemed to still be here though.

"Oh, you're awake…" She noticed. "You may want to get that looked at."

I felt my face. I most likely had a black eye.

"What happened?" I wanted to know. "Why did she knock me out? I was yielding."

"Cathy remembered one of your previous fights where you cheated." She told me. "She decided not to take a chance."

"She just couldn't have me win once, could she?" I groaned.

"Cheaters never prosper, Cass." Clair remarked.

"Shut up, bitch…" I turned away from her.

"You really won't call me sister?" She put her hands on her hips.

"We aren't sisters!" I shouted. "You all made that very clear!"

"Just wash up and head back to bed." She told me. "It's getting late."

"Late?!" I was shocked to hear. "How long have I been out?!"

She didn't answer. She just walked off.

 **Two Weeks Later…**

The mess hall…

I swear the food only got worse since I was 16. Maybe because I had better food in Inkopolis, maybe they got cheaper slop to feed us, I don't know…

"How'd you get promoted?" One runt asked me.

"Huh?" I turned to him.

"It's just…you lag behind everyone else…" He pointed out. "How'd you get past basic?"

"Because her sisters are Elites." An Octoseeker answered before I could. "She was promoted to Sergeant Major after she transferred here after all. That's probably why she came here."

"That's not why I came here at all!" I shouted. "I wanted out of Octo Gorge and I forgot to be specific! The last thing I want is their help!"

"Right…" The Octoseeker rolled his eyes.

"Why'd you want to leave the Gorge?" The runt was curious.

"Because everyone there hates her." An Advanced class Octoling girl answered for me. "She generally makes everyone's lives worse."

"You wanna take this outside?" I glared at her.

"We aren't allowed outside." She replied.

"You know exactly what I mean!" I hissed.

"It'd be too easy." She bragged. "You only got as far as you did with Catherine by cheating."

"Strategy!" I shot back.

"Right…" She rolled her eyes as she left.

I followed her out.

"What is your deal?!" I shouted.

"Do you not remember me?" She crossed her arms.

"…No." I couldn't.

"You trained me." She said. "You beat me down."

"…Not really specific." I told her. "You…really don't know how to narrow it down."

"No wonder you left…" She rolled her eyes.

"It was survival." I glared at her.

"I heard." She leaned forward. "Angered the wrong people, huh?"

"Shut up…" I hissed.

She just smirked and walked off.

I already hate everyone here…


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

 **Months Later…**

Huh…it's my birthday…again…

Happy 20th to me.

How to spend my free time tough…?

Every day sucks here…

It's always train recruits, beat recruits that sass me, get hounded by my pains, and get ridiculed by people behind my back and to my face.

It's always the same…

"Hello Cass…" Catherine said as I passed her. "Abuse any more recruits?"

"You're one to talk about abuse…" I replied.

"I punish you when you act out of line." She crossed her arms. "You beat people up because you feel like it."

"I do it when they sass me and ridicule me!" I shot back. "And don't act like you don't enjoy beating the carp out of me!"

"You're so full of yourself." She rolled her eyes.

"At least I'm not full of shit…" I groaned.

She facepalmed.

"Look, can you not today?" I sighed. "I'd rather not do this on my birthday."

"It's our birthdays too." She reminded me.

"Yeah, and I don't care." I really didn't.

"And you expect us to care it's yours?" She tilted her head.

"I just want you to leave me alone." I told her.

"Depends on your attitude." She replied.

 **One Hour Later…**

I just got through smacking a recruit who called me an unskilled moron when Carla caught me.

"You never change, do you?!" She shouted as she grabbed me.

"You all are ones to talk!" I spat.

She then managed to put me in a choke-hold. I could barely breathe.

"So, recruit?" She called out to the runt. "You want some revenge?"

The runt happily obliged, punching me in the stomach a few times. After a solid minute, I was let go.

I fell to the ground, coughing while holding my stomach.

I then felt something wet hit the side of my face.

"Did you spit on me?!" I shouted at the recruit.

She just ran away, giggling as I wiped my face off.

 **Two Hours Later…**

I was taking another one of the Elite physical tests. I got about a quarter way through the course before I got splatted.

"GAAAAH!" I shouted as I slowly respawned.

"I wonder how many times that is…" Cynthia wondered.

"I hate you…" I mumbled.

"Hm?" She got closer. "What'd you say?"

"I SAID I HATE YOU!" I shouted at I punched her in the nose.

I turned and ran away, but she quickly recovered and caught me.

"Got you." She taunted.

I didn't even bother struggling when she caught me. It'd be no use…

"Just get it over with." I groaned.

"Accepting your punishment." She seemed impressed. "That's a step up for you."

"Tati shu mi lu!" I spat.

"Novi mi woo." She replied.

"W-wait…" My eyes widened. "You can speak Inklish?!"

"We all can now." She told me. "It's become a second language in this settlement. Heck, in some settlements it's the main language."

"Wait…so…" That means…

"Yup." She confirmed. "The Inklish learning you were so proud of meant nothing in the end."

"Splat you…" I started tearing up. "Can I have nothing?!"

"Cass, Clair gave you an out." She said. "You could've taken it and walked out with some dignity, but you refused it and now here you are, shamelessly fighting dirty to get ahead in a field you have no chance in."

"An out?! Dignity?!" I turned my head towards her. "You all just want me to give up!"

"It's probably for the best you do." She stated. "She tried to give you an out because she thought it'd be best for you."

"You don't know what's best for me!" I spat.

"And what should we do that's best for you?" She tilted her head.

"How about you drown yourselves?!" I shouted. "It'd make me happy at least!"

"You really think that?" She asked.

I then noticed she got a mischievous grin on her face.

 **Two Minutes Later…**

Cynthia pulled my soaking wet head up from the water.

I was coughing and gasping for air.

"Thanks for letting me use the sink, chef!" Cynthia called out before turning to me. "Learn your lesson, Cassie?"

"Yes!" I cried. "Please, no more!"

She then released me.

I fell to the ground.

It just gets worse…

I slowly got up and walked into the hallways…

I need…to relax…

The lounge…

 **Ten Minutes Later…**

The lounge area.

Honestly it's…kind of bleh.

It's mostly an area for people to hang out if they have friends, get drunk, and hook up.

Food's…okay…

It's mostly the cheapest, flavorless chips with some kind of wasabi-based dip.

But after what I've been through so far today, I deserve to feel like it's a happy birthday.

I took a seat at the bar.

"Hello." An Octobomber in a dorky bowtie greeted me. "What can I get you?"

"Just…" I didn't care. "I've had a bad day, so whatever can help me forget it…or make it feel better…I don't care which."

"Alright…" He poured something. "Pure Octarian Ale."

"Well, I'm 20 now, so I might as well give it a try." I admitted.

"This is your first drink?" She seemed surprised. "Maybe I should get you something with less kick."

Before he could take it away, I grabbed it and downed it quickly.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "Just…tastes weird…"

"Always does at first." He told me.

"Another!" I requested.

He obliged.

"You really want to get messed up, don't you?" An Octoling girl next to me asked.

I turned to find that Advanced who I apparently trained at some point.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" I asked.

"If you must know, it's Amanda." She answered.

"Well, fuck you Amanda." I replied. "Now shut up, I wanna see how many I can take."

"This is your first time drinking." She stated. "You won't last long."

"You wanna bet?" I glared at her.

"Sure." She agreed. "I can take much more than someone like you can."

"Wait…" I said. "How old are you?"

"17." She answered. "Age requirement is lower here."

"Oh…" Didn't know that. "So if we're betting, what you want if you win?"

"You have to apologize for your abuse!" She told me. "And mean it."

"Fine…" I agreed. "And if I win…I'll…I'll come up with it later…"

"Alright then, you sadist." She raised her filled cup. "Bottoms up!"

 **Tem-ish minootsh laymmm…**

It was…an epic contest…I think…

I don't know…

"Okaay…you w-win…" She relented. "I'm like…too out of it…"

"Haaaaaa!" I raised my glass up in victory. "I *hic* wiiiiiinnn!"

I stood up…and immediately lost my balance. I had to hang onto her for stability.

"Wow…" Her eyes widened. "I think you're more…more…d-drunk than I am…"

"I sink I *hic* derserve my ward now?" I stated as I tried climbing her to get back on my feet.

"Whaddya want?" She asked.

I was just to her level now.

"I want…want…uh…" I was looking at her. "I wannnn…"

I got a little closer.

The next thing I remember was me sitting in one of the lounge chairs. Something heavy was on my lap.

I then realized it was Amanda…and we were locking lips.

Wow...and she said I was more drunk than her?

After a few more minutes she passed out, falling off of me.

I then got up and started walking…well…shambling…back to the barracks.

I could see my sisters were chatting about something. Carla then noticed me.

"Hey, what's wrong with Cass?" She asked the others.

The others turned to see me wobbling down to the pods.

"Are you drunk?!" Clair asked, walking over to me.

"No!" I replied. "Yer drunk!"

"Oh, for the love of…" She facepalmed. "First you cheat, then you lie and abuse people, and now you're drunk?!"

"Hey!" I managed to keep a decent posture and poked her chest. "Iss ma birfday! I can spend it however I wand and I gotta deal with yer shit! I gotta deal everyone's shit! Why *hic* wouldn't I?"

"That's it!" She turned to walk back to the others. "I'm done with you!"

"You never *hic* tried!" I told her. "You never liked me…never wanted me round…never thought I wuz good nuff…never…never…"

Everything went black as I passed out.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

 **The Next Day…**

I woke up the next morning…

No one bothered to pick me up.

Ow, my head is killing me…

I managed to get to my feet and make my way to the mess hall.

 **Later…**

I was able to get through the training session without too much fuss. Guess the recruits figured me with a headache definitely wasn't in the mood for sass. Didn't want any anyway. My head hurt too much…

At this point, I was cooling my head off with a glass of water in the lounge. I turned my head to see Amanda doing the same.

"Are headaches normal after drinking?" I asked.

"Only when it's a lot." She said, rubbing her head. "It's called a hangover. You deserve one after all you've done."

"Did I deserve that reward you gave me?" I smirked.

"What are you talking about?" She didn't remember. "I don't recall you naming your prize for winning."

"You gave me something, alright." I grinned, making a kissy-face afterwards.

"I-I would never do that with someone like you!" She shouted.

"But you did." I replied.

"No I didn't, you liar!" She spat.

"I remember it." I remarked.

"Well, did anyone else see this supposed event happening?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"One-eyed Joe saw the whole thing." The Octobomber bartender said. "My name's One-Eyed Joe by the way."

"…But you have two eyes…" I pointed out, confused.

"And that's how I saw your smooch." He replied.

"It actually happened?!" Amanda couldn't believe it. "Y-you assaulted me!"

"She kissed you first, but it ended with her sitting in the chair while you were all over her." One-Eyed Joe explained.

Amanda stared at him in disbelief while I started snickering.

"Th-there's no way!" Amanda couldn't believe it. "With…her…?"

"Fahahaha!" This was priceless. "One-Eyed Joe, you're awesome!"

Amanda immediately spat and rubbed her lips.

"Aw, come on." I put an arm around her shoulder. "It wasn't that bad."

"Can this get any worse?" She whined.

"Hey look, a security camera!" I pointed it out. "Think we can get the juicy footage?"

We both immediately bolted for the security wing only to be denied entry.

"Sorry, but only authorized personnel allowed." The guard said.

"I-I just need a few seconds of footage destroyed." Amanda said.

"It was more like a few minutes." I corrected her. "And I want it for reasons."

"Authorized personnel only." He stated.

"Well, at least I know you won't get it." Amanda sighed in relief.

Oh, I'll get it…

"Wow, you're pretty no-nonsense, huh?" I said to the guard. "Not gonna lie, that's pretty hot."

"Huh?" Amanda was confused by what I was doing.

"W-well, I-uh…" He was getting flustered.

I can't believe how easy this is!

I put a hand on his arm.

"Do you work out?" I asked.

"Uh-s-staying in shape is a requirement." He composed himself.

"But I've never seen muscles like this." I felt up his arm. "What's your secret?"

"I-I mean, I'm nothing special…" He told me.

"Don't say that…" I said, putting my arms around his shoulders. "I think you're special."

"Seriously?" Amanda crossed her arms. "Do you really think that'll-"

"Y-you do?" He asked.

"Yeah…" I said, getting closer. "If you could take me in to get what I need, I'll repay the favor…"

He looked around quickly and opened the door.

"What?!" Amanda couldn't believe it.

"And don't let her in." I added.

He then shut the door behind us.

 **Fifteen Minutes Later…**

I moseyed on out of the room towards a dumbfounded Amanda, footage in hand and a recently smooched security guard following behind me. He went back to guarding the door.

"Thank yooooou!" I waved him goodbye.

He shyly waved goodbye.

"Do you have no shame?" Amanda asked, disgusted.

"We only kissed a bit." I told her. "Personally I thought your lips were sweeter, but maybe that was just the taste of Octarian Ale on them."

I then put the footage into a handheld viewing screen to show her proof of last night's deed.

Her look of disgust only grew as she turned to leave.

I followed her.

"Oh don't act like you didn't like it." I taunted.

"I only did because I was wasted!" She stated. "There's no way I'd like it if I did that sober!"

"…Wanna test that out?" I asked, tilting my head.

"What?!" She winced at that suggestion. "After what you did to me?!"

"I don't even remember you from back then, I'm sure I've beaten up other people way worse," I got closer. "And honestly, you aren't bad looking…"

Her face got red when I said that.

"If I beat you up in the past, I'm sorry…" I wasn't really, but she was getting more flustered now. "Maybe I can make it up to you…?"

She didn't move or say anything. She was clearly trying to process this.

I decided to use my lips to help her process it faster. Her eyes widened at my action.

After a few seconds I stopped, awaiting her reaction.

"I-I didn't say you could do that…" She stated.

"Well I did." I replied. "What are you going to do about it?"

After a brief moment, she lip-locked with me again, putting her arms around me. After a few seconds, she pulled back, shaking her head.

"I…I don't know why I did that…" She said.

"I'm not complaining…" I said with a smirk, pulling her closer. "To be honest, that was sweeter the second time."

"…Splat it." She threw herself forward, covering my mouth with her own again.

Unfortunately she knocked me over in the process and I hit my head, but we continued anyway.

Heh…maybe this can be a belated birthday present…

 **Later…**

I was humming a nice tune while practicing my Octo Samurai haiku.

"You seem more upbeat…" Carly noticed.

"I got a...Friend now." I told her. "And a good one at that."

"You?" She looked surprised. "A friend?"

"What?" I looked at her. "Surprised I can manage that?"

"It's just…you're genuinely unpleasant." She replied.

"And you're a flat out bitch and half the time I can't tell the difference between you and Carla." I retorted.

"You can't?" She was surprised to hear that. "No, you're just saying that to get my krill."

"Hate to play devil's advocate, but she's right." Chloe in her pod actually agreed with me. "Granted sisters tend to look similar, but you and Carla look almost identical, chose the same military field, and are only one letter apart in names."

Carly clearly took offense to that and stormed off.

"Wow…" I looked up at Chloe. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I feel like buying you a drink."

"It dulls the senses." She replied. "Plus I don't want to end up like you did last night."

"Hey, Carla and Cynthia made my birthday suck and I wanted to feel better." I defended myself. "Shell, you all make my life suck, so I double-needed the drinks."

She just gave me a look of disapproval.

"Well, I'm gonna meet her in the lounge tomorrow." I said, getting up. "We're gonna get sooo wasted!"

I walked out of there, feeling a bit better today than yesterday. I'll feel worse tomorrow when I'm hungover, but it'll be worth it.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

 **The Next Day…**

I found Amanda back in the lounge.

"Sup!" I shouted as I walked over.

"Please don't…" She groaned.

"What?" I tilted my head in confusion. "Aren't we friends now?"

"Friends?!" She sounded shocked. "I just…we…I made out with…you!"

"And?" I was confused.

"And I liked it!" She sounded panicked.

"What's wrong with that?" I was still confused.

"You assaulted me before!" She shouted. "You hurt me and I kissed you!"

"I said I was sorry." I shrugged.

"Seriously?!" She almost yelled.

"Does this mean we aren't friends?" I wondered. "Because if so, then I just lied to someone…"

"I just…need to think…" She told me as she turned to leave.

O…kay…

 **Two Hours Later…**

"You never- ***Thwak*** -learn- **Thwak*** -your damn- ***Thwak*** -lesson!" Catherine shouted as she punched me while I was being held back.

After another minute, I was let go again.

"…Why'd she even come here…?" Catherine mumbled to herself as she and the others left.

I slowly got up and started making my way to the infirmary.

I then saw someone handing me something.

It was Amanda with an ice pack. She said nothing and didn't make eye-contact.

I took it and continued on.

 **Later…**

I was taking it easy on one of the medical beds while waiting for my scans. Have to make sure Cathy didn't mess me up too much. They soon came back. Just a couple bruises, nothing like the first time she beat the carp out of me, but I should still take it easy.

I started to leave, but I then noticed Amanda was sitting at a desk in the other room. Was she stalking me?

I walked over to see what she was looking at.

She noticed I was walking over.

"So…there was a glitch in the system that messed you up?" She was looking at my medical records!

I snatched them from her.

"Who said you could look at those?!" I shouted.

"I did." The doctor nearby said.

I shoved the files into the doctor's hands.

"Keep your nose out of my business!" I growled at Amanda.

I stormed out of there. Ow!

Hurts to storm…

 **Three Hours Later…Mess Hall**

I got my food. Octo…it seems wherever I sit, I hear people talking shit about me…

"Hey." It was, big shock, Amanda again.

"What do you want?" I groaned.

"Wanna eat in the auditorium next door?" She asked.

"We can do that?" I was surprised to hear.

"There's no rule against it, so why not?" She shrugged. "Besides, I've seen how your meal times tend to go. Figured you could use some quiet."

I reluctantly nodded and we went over to the auditorium. Huh…no one else was there.

We both started eating.

"So why'd you invite me here?" I was confused.

"I've been…looking into you…" She what? "I learned about your…disadvantage…and after seeing things like your failures at the Elite tests, your encounter with that Elite, and how your time in the cafeteria usually goes, I figured you could use a break in the repetition."

"And you care because…?" I was still confused.

"I remember how you beat down me and my siblings," She brought that up again. "But I'm curious as to how you got that way."

"…Let's just say life sucks…" I told her. "It sucks, is unfair, and doesn't let up."

"It…doesn't have to be that way." She said.

"Are you just saying that because you want these lips?" I tilted my head.

"I-I just…want to understand you so I can decide whether or not to hate myself for it." She told me. "I'm still unsure how I feel about it."

"You clearly don't feel too bad about it…" I smirked. "You were all over me, after all."

"Just…let me learn about you." She practically begged. "So I can decide for myself."

"A'ight." I agreed. "Well, I'm done with my dinner."

"Same here." She said.

"How about dessert?" I offered.

"We don't get dessert." She pointed out.

"I meant smooch some more." I clarified, getting closer.

"I-I don't know…" She said as I put a hand behind her head. "I still feel weird about that…"

"You make me feel weird too…" I told her. "So how 'bout it?"

"A-alright…" She agreed. "Just…don't make me regret it…"

I grinned.

 **The Next Day…**

"Alright recruits…" I looked in the schedule. "Target practice!"

I turned to find Amanda was here too.

"And you're here because…?" I was confused.

"I decided to take a trainer position here to make sure you keep a cool head." She explained.

"I'll be fiiine…" I assured her.

 **5 Minutes Later…**

"What did you say about my aim, you scum sucking, no-name, piece of garbage, little shit?!" I shouted as Amanda was holding me back.

"Recruit, can you come over here?"

No…

"Yeeeesss?" He smirked as he eagerly put his hand into a fist.

"Cass, you get one smack." Amanda said. "Recruit, you don't get to hit back."

My eyes widened and the recruit's smirk dropped.

"Works for me!" I shouted.

She then released me and I decked that runt as hard as I could. He fell over and scrambled away.

"Troops, listen up!" Amanda got their attention. "I'll make sure she doesn't beat you into a bloody pulp, but that doesn't mean I'll hold her back while you do the same to her. You still need to learn discipline! Is that clear?"

"Yes, Miss!" They replied.

"And what do you say to Cassandra, recruit?" She eyed the runt I smacked.

"…S-sorry…Cassandra…" The runt reluctantly apologized to me.

Wow…

The rest of the session went off without any fuss.

I'm…actually…

What's this feeling…?

It feels like respect…but for someone else…it's…weird…

I found myself sitting on the bench next to her.

"Soooo…why did you…help me out?" I was curious.

"Well, I've noticed your pattern." She told me. "Someone disrespects you, you get angry and lash out at them, and then someone of a higher rank usually nearly hospitalizes you, often with help from the recruits you're supposed to be training, and they don't take you seriously and you end up getting more angry, spiteful, and violent."

"Huh…" When you put it like that… "I'm stuck in a cycle, aren't I?"

"So I decided to have a compromise." She continued. "You can't beat them to a pulp, but they still need to know you're in charge of them and show respect. I've decided to assist you in training recruits so they're properly disciplined for their sass and so you don't act out of line and create resentful soldiers."

"Heh…where were you when I was still in the Gorge?" I jokingly asked.

"I moved out when I was 15." She told me. "I'm guessing you probably would've stayed if you had someone to keep you in check?"

"…No." I bluntly replied. "Let's just say many weren't forgiving…while others flat out sucked."

"Yan Traeger?" She guessed.

"He has a first name?" I feigned shock. "I always called him Traeger."

"Heh…yeah…" She chuckled. "But I've been told some other Sectors would ask 'which one?'."

"Oh yeah, I heard he had a sister." I remembered.

"That would be Julia." She told me. "She's Commander of Octo Canyon. She's…nice I guess? I don't know. I've only seen her talk to the king once and she was a total suck up."

"Any others?" I asked.

"I think there are two…maybe three others…" She guessed. "But they aren't as notable. Well, as much as someone with the middle name 'Octavian' can be."

True…

"Um…so…about the training…" How do I say this? "…Thanks…for the assistance…"

"…You're welcome." She smiled.

Mmmmmmmmhm…

"W-well, training session's over." I stood up. "Off to dinner, then bed."

"But it's still early." She pointed out. "How about the lounge afterwards?"

"Right…" That was a good point. "Let's get wasted afterwards!"

She then nodded and we did one of those fives that turns into a handshake. What are those called?

Eh, who cares?

We won't remember it after hitting the bar.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

 **A Week Later…**

I was hanging out in the lounge with Amanda again.

"I can't believe you're part of C-Group!" Amanda said. "They're practically celebrities back home!"

"Trust me, it sucks." I replied.

"It does?" She was confused.

"Think about it." I turned to her. "Remember how I was crippled by a glitch?"

"Yeah." She remembered.

"Imagine coming out the same tube they did." I told her. "You're expected to be just like them, but you can't keep up with them, you're eventually told to just give up by everyone, including them, and you get so frustrated, you start lashing out."

"Uh-huh…" She was listening.

"I lashed out, but it never went well for me." I continued. "Got beaten up a lot, got made fun of a lot, and always told to give up. I never got respect."

"I know about that part…" She said. "So they were all horrible to you?"

"Yup." I nodded. "Every single one of them."

"Catherine?"

"Beat me up when I lashed out. You actually saw that last week."

"Carla?"

"Literally threw me in the trash. She and Cynthia actually made most of my last birthday suck."

"And Cynthia…?"

"Dunked my head in the kitchen sink, repeatedly getting me close to drowning."

"Carly?"

"Basically a clone of Carla.

"Chloe?"

"A know-it-all who always looks down on me."

"Casey?"

"A complete toady for the others."

"The leader, Clair?"

"Had no idea how to deal with me." I told her. "Half the time, she'd let it happen to 'teach me a lesson.' Other times, she'd just encourage me to give up."

"Wow…" She was surprised. "So basically you beat up recruits like I was because it possibly made you feel stronger? Better? Like you aren't the worst?"

I guess when you put it like that…

"I'm not a good person…" I admitted. "I lie, cheat, steal, and do whatever it takes to get ahead in life."

I took a sip.

"Well…" She got closer. "You still have a while to go, but maybe I can help."

"Geez, first Inklings, then the late Dr. Stewart," I took another sip. "I don't know why you people are so invested in me."

"Inklings?!" She was taken aback by that. "You've met Inklings?!"

"Long story short, I snuck off to Inkopolis." I told her. "I stole some Zapfish, I ki…and then I came back."

"That was you?!" She was shocked to hear that. "By yourself?! Wow…you're actually hardcore."

"Wow…" I was shocked to hear a legitimate compliment. "Thanks for the compliment."

"Yeah, well…" Her focused returned. "Most people may suck…but there will always be some people who give a carp."

"Surprised you do." I replied. "After I beat you down once."

"It was actually twice." She told me. "I still haven't forgiven you, but I've been getting a better understanding you. Hopefully, with my help, you'll get better soon."

"Better as a person or better at kissing?" I smirked.

She chuckled a bit.

"Octo, I hope my siblings don't find out about this." She sighed. "They'd think I've lost my mind."

"Maybe you have." I suggested.

"Heh, maybe…" She took another sip. "Just promise me you'll try to keep your abusive habits under control."

"I'll keep randomly attacking people while I'm pissed to a minimum." I agreed. "But I can't make any promises for any who sass and ridicule me. I'll need you around for that."

"It's a start, I guess…" She shrugged.

"Can I get another drink, please?" I asked, showing my empty glass.

She obliged me since her cup was empty as well.

I then heard footsteps behind me.

I turned to find Clair.

"Figured I'd find you here." She said. "Heard you made a friend and was curious who it was."

"Oh, hey Clair." I turned back around. "Was just talking about how much you and the others suck."

"Right…" She rolled her eyes.

Amanda then came back.

"Hey, one of the bitches I we were talking about is here." I told her.

"Oh…" She noticed Clair. "Hi bitch."

"Oh Octo…" Clair sighed. "You're corrupting her."

"I don't mind…" Amanda replied, sitting down and giving me a kiss.

"Oh…" Clair was surprised.

"Yeah…well, surprise bitch." I replied. "Now can you shoo? I'm trying to enjoy myself. I know you and the others think that's wrong, but I don't care."

"I don't think th…never mind…" She gave up and left.

Eh, three's a crowd anyway…

 **The Next Day…**

More Training. At this point, we seem to have a system down. I'd train some troops while she'd train others, and she'd help me contain my anger. Soon enough, most training sessions would go without much fuss. We actually make a pretty decent team. I should…do something…nice…for her…yeah…I will.

The two us were sparring this time. Oddly enough, Amanda actually encouraged me to 'fight dirty' in this match.

I would throw punches while occasionally throwing dust in her eyes, I'd use my hidden wire to trip her, I'd go for all the cheap shots, and I'd taunt her relentlessly.

She'd get angry from the taunting and then making mistakes, she'd get blind-sided, tripped over, and…she admitted defeat…

"I won?" I was surprised.

"Yeah." She confirmed.

"Y-you aren't going to beat me up for cheating?" I said, hesitant.

"If anything, you should do more of that." She shrugged. "In a real battle, it's life or death. You can't expect Inklings to fight fair, so neither should you. Honestly, I never got that 'honorable duel' thing Elites are so obsessed with…"

"You really mean that?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I mean, if it's life or death, best to have a weapon hidden on you."

"Like this?" I pulled out a knife.

"You weren't going to use that on me, right?" She wanted to be sure.

"Amanda, I like your lips waaay too much to stab you." I told her.

"Heh, thanks." She replied. "I like yours too."

Woah…

"Uh…hey…so…" How do I put this? "I had some credits to spare, surprising considering all the drinks we've been getting, and got some tickets to the Game of Splat movie starring Octo Samurai. You…wanna come with me?"

"You got tickets to a movie night?!" Her eyes widened. "Sure! I can't turn down the chance to see a movie, anyway!"

Yessssss!

Huh…I'm excited to go with her…

This girl…

She makes me feel…strange…

 **Later…**

The movie was…okay, it was awesome…then again, Octo Samurai movies always have the best action. I guess what also helps is the fact that movie nights in Octarian settlements happen once in a few months makes it feel more special.

By the end of it, we were chatting about the movie as we were walking out. She seemed to be as much a fan of the movie as I was.

"I can't wait until the next movie night!" Amanda squealed.

"It'll probably be at least half a year from now and shella expensive." I groaned. "Seriously, it wasn't easy to get the tickets."

"And I'm thankful you decided to share them with me." She said. "I…had a good time…"

"Yeah…" I agreed. "Me too…"

For some reason, I put my arms around her, pulling her close. Not kissing her like before. Just…holding her.

She did the same.

Weird…

I keep feeling weird around her…

But I…like it…


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

 **One Month Later…**

"-Happy birthday to yoooou!" I sang while raising a glass. "To the gal who makes my life here tolerable!

"Is it because of the drinks?" She asked.

"Hey, it's not only that…" I told her. "You help me out. You gave me bandages after my last fight with Cathy, you share a drink with me, you help me with the recruits, and you're decent for conversation. Though, admittedly I'm only saying this because I've had a few. I'd never admit this otherwise."

"To be honest, I hated you since meeting you." She said. "But after seeing you…learning about you…I feel much more neutral."

"Didn't know making out was neutral." I quipped.

"Heh…just turned out you're fun...okay, I like you…" She admitted. "Well, we probably shouldn't drink too much. Last time, I slept in the hallway."

"Lucky!" I shouted. "I slept in the doorway!"

We both burst out laughing.

"Well, it's getting late…" She said, looking at the clock.

"Right…another day…" I rolled my eyes.

"We'll chat in the hallway though." She shrugged.

We had a nice chat in the hallway. Soon enough we got to the barracks…well, my barracks. She slept in another dome. We decided it was a good time to make out, stopping after a minute, knowing we'd have to go to bed soon anyway.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." I shrugged, opening my pod door and climbing in.

"Well…it doesn't have to be…" She said, looking the other way. "We could always…share your pod…for the night…"

Oh…OH…

"I-uh…m-maybe another time…" I said, face a little red.

She did a half-smirk.

"Okay, Cass." She turned to leave. "Next time then…g'night!"

"G'night…" I awkwardly waved goodbye.

Heh…heh…stupid!

Golden opportunity, Cass, and you blew it!

Ugh…I flirt, but I'm somehow too nervous to follow it up to the best part.

Eh, next time…

 **Morning…**

Loud…why is it loud?

I opened the pod door. There were a ton of people standing outside. Some of my…podmates were outside too.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Dome collapse." Chloe replied. "One of the lower levels. People who escaped are being assigned to pods."

Right…

Well, time for breakfast and training.

 **Thirty Minutes Later…**

Okay…time to train these recruits…

Didn't see Amanda at the cafeteria…must've skipped breakfast again so she could sleep in.

I looked out to see several recruits looking scared, confused, and overall uneasy. They were clearly wondering where some of their fellow recruits were.

I also noticed I had less recruits to train this time.

Huh…must've been a pretty bad collapse.

"Alright recruits," I decided to start. "Today, we're going over…over…"

I looked around, confused.

Okay, where's Amanda?

I could tell even the recruits noticed I was looking around too.

"Um…okay, we're going over…" I looked in the schedule. "…Uh…bomb throwing…well, to the range."

The session went by quietly…it was weird…there's usually a bit of a fuss, but here…it was quiet. It felt…off…

Everyone felt uneasy…and Amanda didn't show up for some reason…maybe she's sick…or slacking…

After a while, the session was over and it was time for dinner.

 **Mess Hall…**

I sat at a table that had only a few people around it. I looked around. Amanda still wasn't here…

She never misses dinner…

Guess I'll ask my pains in the beak if they've seen her.

"Hey, Casey." I walked over. "You see Amanda anywhere?"

"Amanda…?" She had no idea who I was talking about.

"Okay, Catherine?" I looked towards her. "I'm pretty sure you've seen her next to me before."

"No idea, Cass." She replied.

"…Clair?" I asked.

"Um…I know…" She seemed hesitant. "Maybe you should sit down…"

"Why?" I was confused. "She sick?"

"She's…" Clair seemed uncomfortable. "Cassie, she lived in Dome 33."

"And?" I was still confused.

"Dome 33 Collapsed early this morning…" She told me.

…

"S-she's fine." I was sure. "She probably got stuck having to find a new pod the entire day. Octo knows we have before."

"Cass…" Clair stood up. "Chloe's seen the list of confirmed survivors…she wasn't on that list…"

"Likely just a mistake." I shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said all of our staff was competent. She was probably left off the list by accident or they haven't counted her yet."

"Cass…" Clair put a hand on my shoulder. "Amanda's gone."

I glared at her.

"Clair, I knew you were a bitch," I sighed. "But now you're just going too far."

"I'm not lying, Cass." She totally is.

"No way she's dead." I told her. "There's no possible way the world would be that unfair."

"I'm sorry, Cass." She said.

"Clair, if you're going to lie to me about something like this," I smacked her hand away. "It's clear you aren't sorry for anything."

"Cass, I'm not lying!" She lied.

"I've had enough of your bullshark!" I groaned. "I'm hitting the lounge."

The nerve of her! There's no way Amanda died just like that! The world's not that unfair!

 **The Lounge…**

I sat at the bar and ordered two glasses of Octarian Ale and waited for Amanda to show up.

She always shows up to the lounge. No way she'd miss this!

I was waiting for about an hour before I decided to start on my drink.

Seriously, where is she?

I swear, if she stood me up, I will be so pissed!

 **Two Hours Later…**

"Amandaaa!" I called out from the barstool. "Amaaaaaannndaaaa!"

Still not coming?

What is wrong with her?

I took another shot.

"Fill me up!" I shouted.

"Lady, I think you've had enough…" One-Eyed Joe said.

"I'll stop when Amanda gets here!" I told him.

"Alright…" He relented.

 **Three Hours Later…**

At this point, I was barely conscious. I had my head face-down on the bar top. At this point, Joe had stopped filling up my glass and I stopped asking.

Why…?

Why'd she ditch me?

Doesn't she like me?

I started tearing up.

Does she not care about me anymore?

Is she taking that long to get a pod?

Is she only now eating?

Did she get a promotion?

Did she become an Elite and move?

Did she get sick?

Did she find a civilian career and leave?

Did she get homesick and go back to the Gorge?

Did she feel like visiting her siblings?

What happened…?

Why would she keep me waiting?

Why would she skip out on her drinking buddy?

I don't understand…

...

I don't understand…

…

As I was lying my head down…I felt…something…a hand…

Patting my head…

Stroking my hair-tentacles…

My head was slightly turned, but I couldn't make out who it was.

Amanda?

No…Amanda was a little shorter than me…this person was about as tall as me…

It also kind of looked like she had something sticking off her head, but my vision was too blurry to tell…

I just kept sitting there with my head down, tears flowing, as the mysterious person tried comforting me.

…

Where is she…?


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

 **Age 21…Auditorium 1**

Something's happening…

Pretty much every Octarian has gathered in the auditoriums, watching the viewing screens.

Suddenly, the DJ appeared on the screens.

"A'ight!" He played his opening beat. "Everybody pay yo respects n' listen up!"

We all stood there in silence.

"Now, lotta y'all have been uneasy due to recent dome collapses." He pointed out. "You're lost, scared, confused, and wish this sufferin' would all end…

Yeah…

"All of y'all have lost someone close…" He continued. "Trust me, I know what that's like…"

I clenched my stomach.

"Well, that stops now!" He shouted. "For I, the Beatmastah, The Warrior of the Rhythm, The Ayatollah of Rock and Roll'a, The Hottest Wasabi DJ in the world, DJ Octavio, have got somethin' big planned!"

Something big?

We all awaited to hear what it was.

"Now, it's gonna be a surprise cause the so-called 'New Squidbeak Splatoon' has been eyeing us." He told us. "But they won't be an issue for long…so listen up!

We were all listening

"I've commissioned engineers from all around to make improvements of the Great Octoweapons!" He told us. "For now, ya'll will be trainin' extra hard and be get'n a lotta busy work, because if those Inklings think they can just bury us…leave us down here for a century, and fo'get about us…well, THEY CAN THINK AGAIN!"

"Yeah!" I and many others shouted out.

"We'll show 'em why they feared us in the Great Turf War!" He amped us up. "We'll show 'em why we were n' still are a force to be reckoned with!"

"YEAH!" We were getting excited.

"MARK MA WORDS, Y'ALL!" He shouted. "By the end of this…Octarians WILL be on the surface again!"

Everyone in the auditorium, possibly the entire Valley…possibly every Octarian in the settlements was erupting in applause.

Is…is this it? Are things finally going to go up for us?

…For me?

 **Two Months Later…**

"Alright Recruits, Listen up!" I got their attention. "I'm here because you all think you're some fancy big-shots who can splat an Inkling on your first day, well you can't! I'm here to show you some reality; to break you down so you can be built into the splatting machines you'll still never be."

"Actually, uh…" Some green-eyed Octoling girl interrupted. "I'm only here because it's a requirement."

I decked her in the stomach and she fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry," No I wasn't. "Did I say you could talk?! Stupid runts like you don't know discipline. Fortunately, that's why I'm here-"

Some grey-eyed Octoling boy was trying to help her up.

"Don't help her up!" I shouted.

"I was just-" He didn't get to finish as I decked him too.

"Wow." My eyes widened. "Both of you got a lot of sass in you. "Don't worry, I'll fix that…"

Making comments like that? Must be a naturals.

All the more reason I should teach those spoiled brats some manners…

 **One Month Later…**

So far, everything's going well…

We're all on the same page.

Everyone's motivated.

I'm not getting too much sass.

That grey-eyed natural runt is standing on top of the Octostomp-wait, what?

"Hey, look!" He was talking to his green-eyed friend. "I'm standing on top of its head! Hah! He's looking right at me!"

Seriously?! It's currently undergoing repairs and improvements and you just…just…

I grabbed a nearby wrench and chucked it as hard as I could.

"The only thing that can knock me off is the will of Octo itse-" He was cut off by the wrench hitting his head, causing him to fall off.

Woah…I actually hit him…

I stomped over.

"Aah!" His friend was panicked. "Are you okay?! Why'd you do that?!"

"Seiously?!" The nerve of these naturals. "Do you know how much trouble I'd be in if someone saw one my MY trainees playing with an Octoweapon?!"

"He was just trying to cheer me up after-"

"Oh, so this is your fault." I interrupted her.

"N-no!" She begged. "Please, just don't hurt him anymore."

"I-it's okay, Mei." He was coming to. "I've taken hits to the head before."

"Just get him out of here before he bleeds all over the place." I told her.

"Come on, Guyver…" She helped him up. "I'll help you get patched up."

Stupid natural runts think they can do whatever they want, don't they?

Well, someone's going to teach them they aren't any better than the rest of us…

 **Hours Later…**

I got stopped by Catherine again…

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop abusing your recruits?" She sighed.

"How many times are you going to undermine my authority over them?" I shot back.

"Is it because you're mad your girlfriend is gone?" She asked.

"You're dead, Catherine." I hissed.

"I'm guessing we'll have to spar over this again?" She assumed.

"Okay, I will." I agreed. "About time I put you in your place."

A few minutes later, I was prepared to beat her.

"You can walk away, you know." She taunted. "Save yourself the humiliation."

I said nothing, just taking a stance.

She took hers.

She rushed at me, throwing punches. I threw dust in her eye.

"Agh, seriously?!" She shouted. "Again?!"

"Not my fault you can't adapt!" I taunted.

She toon another swing. She missed. She's getting mad. Making mistakes.

"Come on," I taunted some more. "I actually think this is getting easier!"

She regained her senses and went for me again. Unfortunately for her, she didn't notice the wire I dropped on the ground. I pulled it and tripped her over.

As I went over to hit her while she was on the ground, I spun part of the wire around one of her wrists. As she started to get up, I pulled it, forcing her arm to connect to her leg. She was struggling to move.

"The strong and formidable Catherine, everyone!" I shouted out to people who were watching.

Catherine then switched forms and the wire dropped. She was mad now.

"Any more tricks?" She asked.

"Why don't you come over here and find out?" I told her.

She slowly made her way forward, clearly more cautious now.

"Come on…" I groaned. "I'm getting bored. Why don't you hurry up?! Unless…you're actually scared…"

At that comment she rushed over. Unfortunately for her, I reached into the back of my shirt and quickly uppercutted her with a wrench.

"You brought a weapon?!" She sounded so shocked.

"Expect the unexpected, Cathy." I taunted as I moseyed around her. "Oh wait…that would require you to be original."

She went for me again.

"Hey, what's this?" I rhetorically asked at I pulled at the wire again.

She got tripped over again because like the dumb bitch she is, she forgot that the wire was still on the ground. I then took that time to smack her repeatedly with the wrench.

"This if for beating me to a pulp!"

 ***Thwak***

"This is for teasing me!"

 ***Thwak***

"Taunting me!"

 ***Thwak***

"Telling me to give up!"

 ***Thwak***

"Leaving me behind!"

 ***Thwak***

"Insulting my only friend!"

 ***Thwak***

"And this…!" I stopped.

I noticed her face was bruised and bleeding and she looked like she was anticipating another blow. Prepared to catch it, no doubt.

I instead stood back up and threw the wrench on the ground.

"I win!" I stated.

"Guess you do, sis." She shrugged.

"I don't have sisters." I told her. "You're just a bitch who makes my life worse."

She just glared at me as I walked off.

 **The Day…**

We were gathered in the Auditoriums again. DJ appeared on the screen.

"Now ya'll must be wonderin' why I've been havin' ya'll trainin' real hard these past few months." He knew. "Well, that's because the rumors are true! We're finally gonna take back what's ours! Starting…with this!"

The camera then zoomed out to show the Great Zapfish along with many others.

Wow…this completely undermines my accomplishment, but I'm not mad…just impressed.

"Now, we've had a few Zapfish heists in the past few years that didn't amount to much," There were more than just mine? "But this is the big one! With this, we're gonna power our weapons! We're gonna power our domes! We're gonna march onto the surface and show those Inklings who's boss!"

The crowd erupted in applause.

"Gya ha ha!" He laughed. "That's what I like to hear! We just have a few more preparations to make, final touches on the Octoweapons, Octonozzle still isn't mobile yet, and we've got this in the bag! Now, howsabout I play some beats in celebration for our victory?"

The crowd cheered.

"A'ight, ya've convinced me." He nodded his head. "I'll play ma beats just for you."

The crowd roared in applause as glow sticks dropped from the ceiling as he started playing.

He played his best hits while everyone was jamming to the beat. It was a sweet rave.

I bet Amanda would've liked it…

…

Why did she have to go…?

…

I'll just keep to myself for a while…

I'll hold you in my memory, Amanda…

But now…I need to focus on me.

Don't worry…We'll beat those Inklings. Heck, maybe I'll get promoted to Elite while I'm at it.

Things'll get better…

They will…

They have to…


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's Note: New follower! "they did surgery on a grape" is now following Runt of the Litter! Thanks for your interest in this story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads this continues to enjoy my works!**

 **PS: I hope that surgery went well.**

Chapter 33

 **Days Later…**

We were gathered into the auditoriums again. DJ appearing again.

"A'ight, I'm gonna tell y'all, the rumors are true." He said. "The Octostomp has been taken down. Cuttlefish has got a new lackie to do his dirtywork."

The screens showed the image of a green-haired Inkling girl in a black outfit with a neon-yellow vest.

"According to our spies, she is called Agent 3." Octavio told us. "Look at her face. Study it. Remember it. Cause I'm expectin' y'all to take her down."

We did as he said.

"Now, we figured these Zapfish heists wouldn't go unnoticed," He admitted. "But that doesn't mean we're just gonna let these suckas take whatever they want! Prepare yo'selves, cause we gonna step it up!"

We all got excited for that.

 **Later…**

Alright, I'm sure I'll get Zapfish duty. Let's see…what?

Reserve?!

But I already…I'm gonna fix this…

I made my way down to where he higher-ups were. I could see the lieutenants and I think the Sector commander too, but I decided to play it safe and went over to the receptionist.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Excuse me, but I'd like to talk about where I'd be positioned." I told her. "I have an issue that I'd like to be fixed."

"And what issue would that be?" A voice behind me asked.

I turned to find…Oh Cod…

"D-DJ!" I saluted. "Sergeant Major Cassandra! I have a problem with where I'm going to be stationed. W-what are you doing here?"

"Octonozzle got destroyed and I gotta make plans." He said. "Now, what's the problem?"

"See, I'm being put in the reserve forces." I told him. "Despite the fact that I'm likely one of the only people here who has guarded a Zapfish before. I have some experience, but I was denied for some reason."

He looked at me for a few seconds, thinking.

"Ah, I remember you…" He did? "Didn't you fail at guarding the Zapfish? Why should I consider you?"

"Because I have experience!" I explained. "Besides, Sieg failed too and you promoted him!"

"And look where he is now." He said. "B'sides, you'll just get splatted."

"Come on!" I begged "Give me a chance!"

"Why?" He asked.

"You let the bitches who came out the same tube as me guard some Zapfish!" I said. "Let me have a chance too!"

"Hmmmmmm…no." He turned to leave.

"Seriously?!" I couldn't believe it. "Don't we need all the soldiers we can get?!"

"We're fine." He shrugged.

"Well, who cares what you think?!" I shouted. "Maybe I'll go myself and prove you wrong, you stupid old man!"

The receptionist looked at us with utter fear.

"What…" Octavio turned around. "Did you call me?"

Oh splat…

"Y-you heard me!" I decided to stick to my guns. "I stole four Zapfish all by myself! I can handle it!"

"…Follow me…" He urged me to follow.

He led me into a room with some…musical equipment?

"Now…" He started using his turntables. "You wanna repeat yo'self?"

"I said, give me a chance." I repeated.

"A chance, huh?" He kept playing. "Well, what do you want now?"

"I want a chance to mess that Agent up!" I repeated.

"Eh?" He started playing louder. "Repeat that!"

"Give me a chance!" I begged.

"What's goin' on?!" He seemed confused.

I decided to yank the cord.

"Hey!" He whined. "Plug that back in!"

"So you can tune me out?!" I shouted. "Not a chance! Please! Give me a chance!"

His eyes were wide as he stared at me. He then took a moment to think.

"So…you actually want to go against that Inksquirt?" He asked.

"Yeah!" I nodded.

"Why?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Because I want to prove I'm good enough to be an Elite." I told him. "To prove I'm…not worthless…"

He seemed surprised by my answer.

"So you wanna go out there and fight the Inkling…willingly…of your own free will?" He wanted to be sure, I guess…

"Yes!" I replied. "I mean, why wouldn't I?!"

His eyes widened.

"…Okay!" He agreed. "That works! You pull this off, I'll make ya an Elite. If not, don't bug me again. Either way, I'll need to...check ya out when this is all over."

"Oh, I'll make you proud, DJ!" I told him. "Where do you want me?"

"Don't care." He shrugged. As long as ya get it done, I don't care."

"…What if…" I got closer. "I ambushed her on the surface?"

"That'd be against the rules…" He pointed out. "Ya got somethin' planned?"

"I just figured an 'out of the box' approach would do us well." I told him.

"…A'ight," He nodded. "But this is yo endeavor. You'll be the test to see if it'll work."

I saluted before leaving.

 **Later…Octo Valley**

Alright…woah…this Agent just blows through the kettles, doesn't she? She already cleared two areas.

I gotta set up the perfect trap.

It'll be easy since there are a lot of high areas, walls, and narrow places to hide in and get the drop on her from.

Let's see…reports say she's going after these areas in numerical order, so she'll be going into the walkway on the center tower to get to the next area.

Alright! I'll put a pool of ink at the bottom and push her off the side! While she's stuck in my ink, I'll use my still superior to hers hand-to-hand combat experience and take her down!

Genius, Cass!

 **Minutes Later…**

Huh…it's getting dark…well, all the more to my advantage!

Luckily these goggles have night vision.

Yes! There she is, right out of the kettle!

Alright…get over here, you…where are you going?

"Hey, Cap'n," I could hear the Agent talking into her headset. "It's getting kinda late. Should I turn in?"

Turn in?!

"Uh-huh…uh-huh…" She nodded. "Okay, Goodnight Cap'n."

She turned into a squid and launched towards the first area.

You've gotta be kidding me! I have to wait longer?!

Ugh…fine…

Just gotta wait…

Just gotta wait…

…I'm already sick of waiting…

Well, since I'm I have free roam here…

I can boobytrap the entire area!

I'll go back, get some stuff, and come back here!

This'll be my best plan yet!


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks Grand Mah for your interest in the story and I hope you, my other followers, and everyone else who reads this continues to enjoy!**

Chapter 34

 **The Next Morning…**

"Agh! What the-"

I was woken up by the distressed squid sounds. I looked over the side to see the Agent was back. And she fell for my first trap. At the moment, she was tied up on a string. She shifted forms and got out of it, but she was put on edge.

"I'm fine…" The Agent said into her headset. "Someone must've set up a trap…and forgot to surround me after it caught me…just eat your crabby cakes. I've got this."

Oh, there'll be more than that, little squid.

"Gaaaaah!" she shouted.

Oh, she activated the thumbtack launcher.

I decided to lie on my stomach, watching the scene unfold.

Let's see…yup, the ink-mines…the-wow, the itching powder, didn't think she'd fall for that…and-

"Fire, fire, fire!" She was panicking.

I looked over.

I could tell she was just bolting to the nearest kettle. She just uncovered it and was about to jump in.

"Help!" I called out.

She stopped and looked around. She then looked up and noticed me.

"Um…hello?" She was confused. "What are you do…did you set all this up?!"

"Um…part of it…" I said, sheepishly. "I-I was told to help lay traps and they just left me up here…"

"Why don't you just Squi-er…Octojump out?" She asked.

"I-I'm a low-level worker…" I lied. "Only soldiers are allowed to shift forms…the rest of us get limiters…"

"Believe me, I know how limiters can suck." She said. "Well, bye."

"W-wait!" I shouted. "C-can you help me?"

"Why should I?" She tilted her head. "Aren't we enemies?"

"Please…I don't wanna fight…" I lied again. "I just…wanna go home…"

"Alright…" She sighed. "I'll first retrace my steps to find my way up there."

"Just be careful!" I warned her. "They set it up so there are traps on your way back too!"

"S-seriously?!" She was shocked to hear.

"D-don't worry!" I feigned an attempt to ease her. "I'll guide you through! Well, attempt to do so…I'll help you with the ones I made."

"Well, that helps at least." The fool didn't suspect a thing.

I'd "guide" her through the gauntlet of traps I've laid out, only telling her how to evade a couple of them, and occasionally making things up so she'd have to take another way around, going through more traps.

Luckily I'm pretty good at acting…and lying. I did observe the agent though. I also occasionally made some small comments, as did she. I quickly could tell a few things about her.

She seems easy enough to trick…for now…she seems like she catches on to things quickly, so I have to be careful.

She gets pretty angry pretty fast. Heck, her language is almost as bad as mine...

She seems pretty introverted.

Likes to keep herself busy.

Probably into girls, but doesn't know it yet.

...That's about it for now.

Eventually though, she finally made it up to where I was.

"I'm here…" She said, clearly done with today. "Any other traps?"

"I honestly don't know." I lied. "I think you triggered most of them though…"

I could hear her growling at my comment.

"W-why don't you sit here a sec?" I offered. "You look exhausted."

"Because I-actually, that sounds good…" She sat down.

"So how'd you become an Agent, anyway?" I asked. "Hand-picked from the best?"

"Actually I just saw this creepy old guy sticking his head out of a manhole." She told me. "I followed him down and he gave me the job on the spot."

"That's…weird…" I couldn't lie.

"It was, but I'm helping Inkopolis, you know?" She said. "Making the world a better place and whatnot."

Like shell you do…

"You know, this is the closest I've been to an Octoling without her trying to kill me." She noted.

"Oh?" I lifted my goggles. "So, ya like what you see?"

"I-wha?" She got a little red when I said that.

"What?" I feigned innocence. "I meant do you like my hair."

"Oh…" She looked at it. "It's…nice…"

"Thanks!" I smiled. "I like to think it impresses all the other Octolings."

"Speaking of which," She looked at me. "Are Octolings all-girls or something? That's all I've seen and it made me wonder…"

"Of course there are boys, silly!" I chuckled. "There's a bit of a higher number of girls…and there are some military boarding schools here, but yeah there are guys. It wouldn't make sense otherwise."

"Right…" She felt stupid. "Well, since you have a path now, I guess we part ways now."

She then stood up.

"Oh, wait!" I stood up.

"What?" She was confused until I hugged her.

"…Thanks…" I said.

"Oh...heh…welcome…" She replied.

Her face then turned to one of surprise when I lifted her up. And held her over the edge of the tower.

"…For being such an idiot." I dropped her onto a hidden puddle of my ink.

She struggled to get up. I then jumped down and knocked her weapon out of her hands. I then tackled her to the ground and started beating her down.

She was really bruised now and bleeding slightly. I had the upper hand.

I reached out and grabbed a hidden sack.

"I figured I might as well take you in alive!" I grinned as I started to pull the sack over her.

She was squirming a lot, but couldn't shift forms since she was in my ink.

"Now get in the sack if you know what's good for ya!" I taunted.

I managed to pull the sack over her and pulled it closed.

"Hah!" I got her! "What now?"

I then got hit by her squid form trying to get out of the sack.

"Hold still, will ya!" I shouted.

Unfortunately, she did not stay still and managed to weasel her way out of the sack and my grip. She managed to roll away from my ink puddle. I rushed over.

She got up and barely dodged my punch. She knew she couldn't fight back very well, but man was she good at dodging.

She then dropped something on the ground…a bomb!

I dove out of the way as it exploded. I got some of its ink on me, which stung…a lot…

I was about to get up, only to find that Splattershot-looking weapon in my face.

"P-please, spare me!" I begged.

"You set all of these traps, didn't you?" She asked.

"I-"

"Didn't you?!" She shouted.

"Y-yes!" I admitted.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't splat you!" She aimed the weapon.

"I'm sorry!" I cried. "Please, I'll do anything! Please don't spat me!"

She stood there in silence.

"I-I admit it!" I prostrated myself. "I lied to you. I-I just thought I'd get respect if I caught you! I'm sorry! I'm a sorry, dishonest excuse for an Octoling and I'm sorry! Please, don't splat me!"

She stood there for a bit before lowering her weapon and turning to leave.

I grinned as I quickly tackled her. We struggled for a bit, before I had her in a hold, leaning her over the edge.

"I've got an idea…" I smirked. "How about I drop you right here? Surely your death will get me promoted."

She looked panicked as I started pushing her forward, she was leaning further and further over the edge.

Alright Cass, just kill the Inkling…

"Now to….to…" I was starting to shake.

Kill her…

I was shaking pretty badly. My hearts started pounding. I was sweating. I started breathing faster.

Oh Octo…Oh Cod…what is wrong with me?!

Just push her over!

Just kill her!

I froze in place.

I…

I…

I can't…

Why…?

Oh Cod…

I can't kill her…

For some reason…when I look at her face…I see…

She managed to force me back.

She quickly grabbed her weapon and spun around.

All I could do was look at her, completely lost.

 ***Splat***

I flew away back to spawn.


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's Note: New Follower! Thanks TheCoCoolWriter for your interest in this story and I hope you, my other followers, and all others who read this continue to enjoy my works!**

Chapter 35

 **Respawn…**

"Gaaaaah!" That hurt. "Geez, you'd think with power, we'd at least get faster respawns…"

"Well, you tried and failed." The DJ who was here, said. "You did mess her up a little though, so you can have a ticket to my next concert. Consolation prize."

"Thanks…" I took it.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go…" He turned to leave. "I'm plannin' on meeting with an old friend…I'll check on you later…"

Why…?

Oh well...back to the barracks, I guess…

 **At the Barracks…**

"So I heard you failed…" Casey taunted. "Typical Cass can't compare…"

I kicked Casey's shin.

"Shut up, Casey!" I spat.

Casey was about to do something, but Clair stopped her.

"Well, you may have failed," Clair stated. "But don't worry. She has the rest of C-Group to deal with now."

"Well, you were all born right, so I guess you'll win…" I rolled my eyes.

"…Right…" Clair turned to leave.

Guess I'll see how that goes…

 **Hours Later…**

Geez, this squid is a machine…

She beat the Octowhirl!

We're screwed, aren't we?

"Announcement!" The DJ's voice blared over the intercom. "I've captured their leader, the 'great' Cap'n Cuttlefish!"

"You'll never get away with this!" An Old voice I'm guessing was Cuttlefish shouted.

Sweet! We aren't screwed!

"The rest of y'all, pick up the slack!" He told us. "Peace out and cross-fade to black!"

"Oh, I've gotta use that sometime!" Cuttlefish said. "I'm thinkin' of goin' back into the music scene!

"Shut it, Craig!" Octavio growled before ending the transmission.

 **The Next Day…The Lounge**

Weird…despite everything, the Agent is still progressing…reports say she must be getting help from the other agents…

They installed a screen in the lounges and cafeterias s people could watch the agent's defeat and cheer, but so far it's having the opposite effect.

Now is time to view the footage and watch my sisters beat the Agent…good thing I have drinks…

Let's see…

Well, Casey managed to get herself splatted…honestly not as surprised since this Inkling is tough and she can get cocky…have fun respawning, bitch.

They're putting heavy fire on the agent, but she isn't getting hit.

Woah…Carly and Carla got splatted. That's actually funny.

Well, uphill battle from here, girl.

She's ink-swimming circles around Cynthia…

Aaand…Cynthia's splatted…Hah!

I looked around and saw that people were actually getting concerned now. Assuring themselves there's no way the agent could beat all of those Elites.

Chloe and Catherine now…

Chloe got splatted. Know-it-all didn't know to dodge that bomb now, did she?

Oh, Catherine, I hope she splats you…

…

"Yes!" I shot up. "You got owned first try, bitch!"

I immediately sat back back down when people started staring at me.

Okay, and from the UFO descended Clair…She seemed to be striking up a conversation with the Inkling. No idea what they were saying though…

She then pulled out her weapon and fired on the agent. The battle seemed much more evenly matched, though Clair's ink only barely grazed the Inkling. Come on, I left her bruised and bleeding and you're telling me you got splatted-wait, what?

She got splatted?

Oh Octo…

I took a drink one last shot and made my way to the barracks, giggling all the way.

 **One Hour Later…**

The others returned. Fully respawned, but worse for the wear. I eagerly awaited them in my pod.

"So," I started. "How'd it go?"

"Shut up…" Casey groaned.

"Aw, Wittle Casey mad cause she got spwatted first?" I taunted her.

"You're really doing this right now?" Clair sighed.

"Ha! Are you kidding?!" I hopped out of my pod. "I was waiting for this day!"

"A day when our power sources gets stolen?" Cathy glared at me.

"A day when you all got exactly what was coming to you!" I got right in her face. "Your first agent fight and you lost! All that pride, all that posturing, for nothing!"

"You lost your fights with the Agents too, you know." Cathy pointed out.

"Yeah, I was ruined by a tube glitch and I still managed to leave some marks on the girl!" I pointed out. "You came out right and didn't even land a hit on her! What's your excuse?!"

She only got madder as I started laughing.

"Admit it!" I shouted. "You aren't as great as you claim to be! Shell, you suck worse than I do! I did better at fighting these agents than you! Who's the runt, now?!"

She immediately decked me in the face.

"Aaawww, did I strike a nerve?" I got back up. "That'd mean I have better aim than you did during that fight!"

She hit me again.

"Ffffa-hahahahahaha!" I started laughing. "Oh come on, Cathy! I've lost more times than I can count and you don't see me whining this much over it! Oh, Octo, you're pathetic!"

She then grabbed me and kept hitting me.

"Catherine, I think that's enough…" Clair told her.

"Not until she apologizes!" Cathy shouted.

"A- ***cough*** -apologize?" I grinned. "For what…? This is the best day ***cough*** of my life…"

Another nerve struck, she kept hitting me until Clair grabbed her and made her release me. I fell to the ground.

"Hahaaaaaaa!" I sat myself up. "The great C-Group Elites! Not so special after all!"

They stared at me.

"Listen here, bitches!" I managed to stand up. "This day…this loss…is exactly what you deserve! You all deserve to lose your first real fight!"

I crawled back into my pod.

"All of you…" I started to doze off. "Deserve this…"

 **Later…**

I was woken up by a knocking on the pod door.

I opened to find it was Catherine. She handed me a piece of paper.

"What's this?" I took it.

"You're transferring." She told me. "It's obvious we can't get along, so we're sending you away."

"But I have a ticket to Octavio's next concert." I told her, showing my ticket. "He's supposed to be squashing that Inkling."

"Change of plans." She said, taking the ticket. "You're transferring now.

"…Well, good!" I crossed my arms. "I don't wanna anywhere near you bitches anyway! So where to?"

"You're going back to the Gorge." What…? "Heard it's pretty nice now."

"No!" I got up. "You can't send me there!"

Some of the others looked at me, confused.

"Why not?" Cathy asked, confused as well.

"I'll die if I go back there!" I told her.

"You're exaggerating..." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not!" I shouted. "Wait…you want this! You're sending me back because you want me to die!"

"Cass, you're overreacting!" She lied!

"You all ruined my life and now you want to end it!" I shrieked.

"Cass, you…Clair, Can you help?" She turned to face Clair.

"YOU'LL DIE FIRST, YOU BITCH!" I pulled out my knife and slashed at her.

She got a deep cut and fell over, bleeding. That got the others' attention.

"Cassie, stop!" Clair shouted.

"You're next!" I rushed over to Clair.

Before I could do anything, I got grabbed by Catherine and fell over. The others started going after me, but I started slashing in random directions.

Cathy then pulled me over and grabbed my arm. I kept trying to stab her stupid face, but she swiped the knife from my hand and stuck it in my shoulder.

"GAAAAAAGH!" I howled in pain.

Security then came in.

"What's going on?!" One guard asked.

"Cathy and Cass need immediate medical attention." Clair told them. "After you patch them up, get Cass out of here. She's transferring back to the Gorge."

Two guards then grabbed me.

"No!" I shouted. "I don't wanna go back! I can't go back!"

"It's for your own good, Cass." Clair told me. "You'll thank us later…"

"I HATE YOU!" I yelled. "I HATE ALL OF YOU! I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN! I HOPE YOU ALL DIE!"

I kept screaming and shouting that as the guards got the knife out of me, as they patched me up, and as they dragged me, kicking and screaming, all the way back to the Gorge…


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

 **We can't go back now. Not after that…**

 _ **Where are the others?**_

 **Harold should've found them by now. They'll meet us when we get to the city.**

 _ **Hurry up, you two!**_

 **Sorry…**

 _ **You thinking about her again?**_

 **I'm just wondering if we did the right thing…**

 _ **Cass'll be fine. She survived in the Gorge without us before.**_

 **Wait, she say Cass? As in Sergeant Cassandra?**

 _ **Yeah, we sent her back to Octo Gorge. Why?**_

 _ **You sent her back? Well, you won't be seeing her again…**_

 **What do you mean?**

 _ **She's definitely dead.**_

 **What are you talking about?**

 _ **I got trained by her back in the Gorge. Everyone hated her. We all wanted to get back at her. Guy in charge now is one of those people. I imagine that's why she moved away.**_

 **Oh no…**

 _ **Clair…maybe we can-**_

 **She wasn't lying, Chloe…we didn't believe her…**

 _ **Clair…**_

 **We killed her…**

 _ **We couldn't have known…**_

 **I killed her…**

 **Octo Gorge…**

No…

Back here…

I kept clenching my stomach. I felt like I was going to throw up…

Already assigned a pod…

I need an out…

Wait…aaaaaawwww noooooo…

And I know just who to go to…

 **Ten Minutes Later…**

I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" The voice on the other side called out.

"It's me!" I told him.

"Me who?" The wise ass.

"Cass." I told him.

"Doesn't ring a bell." He knew exactly who I am!

"…The lost sea slug…" I answered.

"Come in…" The door opened.

I entered to find Traeger plugged into his monitors again, trying to dig into whatever servers he could find. Lights were off and he seemed alone in the office.

"They transferred me back." I told him. "I need protection…"

"Protection?" He unplugged himself and turned around. "Why?"

"I…reconsidered your offer." I replied. "I'll be partners…"

"Partners?" He got up. "Oh, Cassandra…that offer's long expired."

"B-but, he'll kill me!" I panicked.

"Oh, I'll help you…" He smirked. "Under one condition…"

"What?" I'd do anything…

He then yanked me over by the wounded shoulder.

"You're mine…forever." He told me. "Anything I tell you to do, you will do it expecting nothing in return. You aren't my partner, you're my subordinate. My servant. My loyal pet."

"B-but I-"

He smacked me.

Shut your mouth!" He shouted. "You wanna live or not?!"

"I-I do…" I nodded.

"Then say yes…" He told me. "I'll keep you alive, but that's it. You don't get anything else, you don't deserve anything else. And in return, you do everything I say. Got it?!"

"Y-yes!" I nodded.

"Then take this picture when Sieg inevitable calls you into his office." He handed it to me.

"What's this?" I was confused. "It's just some random Octoling…"

"Let's just say I found the image during my hobby." He said, plugging himself back in. "Let's just say it's a traitor. Now go. The sight of your pathetic self disgusts me. And no, I don't want the key. That old man was as stupid and pathetic as you are if he thought I'd ever willingly go back."

"Stop calling me pathetic!" I shouted as I kicked his computer desk repeatedly and pressed several buttons. "You seriously think a stupid picture will help me?! What kind of stupid are you?!

"Hey!" He shouted. "You messed up my signal! Now I'm going to have to find another server!"

I just glared at him.

"Heh…" He chuckled. "You've got fire in you, but that'll fade eventually…now…go."

I left the office. It was only then I noticed how decrepit everything was starting to look in his office. He hardly had any guards left and Merisse and Speedy weren't here. Probably left him.

I then noticed one Octoling picking up some things. It was Angela.

"Hey, where're Speedy and Merisse?" I asked her.

She looked at me a few seconds.

"Oh, you're that hussie who tried stealing my husband." She recognized me.

"Don't flatter him," I sighed. "I already said I never intended on going with him. I just flirted and kissed so he'd do things for me. So where did he and Merisse go?"

"Merisse is working under Gant now and Allen and I are moving to the Ravine." She told me. "Figured a quieter sector would be better for the kids. I'm just here getting some of his things while he handles the paperwork."

"Well, good luck to you." I shrugged. "Octo knows I'll need it too."

I left to hear the announcements turn on.

"Sergeant Major Cassandra to the Commander's office." The announcer said. "Sergeant Major Cassandra to the Commander's office."

…Oh dear…well…here goes nothing…

 **Ten Minutes Later…**

I made my way there. Stole a knife from the kitchen area just in case.

Well…here goes nothing…

I entered the office.

"H-hello, Sieg…" I managed to say.

"Take a seat." He told me. "And don't speak unless I say you can."

I did as he said.

"I don't know why you came back here," He stood up. "But I have to inform you, I've been working nonstop to improve this settlement. Progress, despite some setbacks, has been made. Disregarding our King's disappearance, I believe we can pull through this."

Wait…what was that about Octavio?

"What I will not tolerate, however," He turned to me. "Is people like you. I've worked hard to turn what was the cesspool of Octarian civilization, to a respectable settlement full of Octarians proud to serve. What just won't fit in that is sadism. Sadism, manipulation, and abuse of all kinds."

Oh no...

"Y-you're going to kill me, aren't you?" I asked. "Like you did to Sasha! Everyone knows you did! Shell, you forged that evidence against Dr. Anea too, didn't you?!"

He said nothing.

"You wanted them out of the picture!" I continued. "You wanted them gone for what they did to you! A-and you want me out of the picture too!"

"Cassandra, it's not just for me." He shook his head. "What I do, I do for all Octarians. A few bad apples spoil the bunch and you need to get rid of them. We all need to be on the same page, working together, and that's frankly something you can't do…for anyone…"

I stumbled out of the chair and rushed to the door. It was locked.

He got closer.

"No!" I shouted. "Please, don't kill me!"

He didn't reply, just getting closer. I pulled out my knife and pointed it at him. My hands were shaking as I held the weapon between us. He looked at it, intrigued, before grabbing it by the blade and forcing it out of my hand.

What is he?!

"I guess I'll drop the formalities, then…" He said as he grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up.

"P…please…" I begged as he started chocking me. "I'll…do…anything…"

He didn't respond.

I couldn't breathe…

Wait…

I pulled out the picture and showed it to him. His eyes widened and he dropped me. I started coughing and gagging.

"Where did you find this?" He wanted an answer. "Where did you find this?!"

"T…Traeger…" I coughed. "G-gave it… ***cough*** to me…

He opened the door and walked out.

"Keep her in there until I return." He told the guards.

Where's he going?

Who was that picture of?

I…I don't get it…

…

…What'll happen when he comes back?


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

 **Some Time Later…**

I don't know how long I've been here…

And I'm in this situation…because of those bitches…

Because of the Inklings…

Because of m…

…I just-

The door opened.

"S-sieg?!" I turned my head.

I then saw it wasn't Sieg, but Traeger.

"Hello, Cassandra!" He seemed more dapper than he was yesterday. "Glad to see you're still alive! I brought you food!"

"Where's Sieg?" I asked.

"He'll be here later…" He told me. "For now, I need you to do something for me…"

"What?" What does he want?

Traeger then got closer.

"When they put his food in here in preparation for his return, put this powder in his drink." He gave me a bottle. "I want you to poison him…"

"But won't they find out?!" I silently shouted.

"They will…" He nodded. "But when they find my discovery, they'll make me the new Commander and I'll pardon you."

"What discovery?" I was confused.

"Turns out, you meddling with my signal helped me!" He told me. "I found a mainframe that appears to be thousands of years old! The knowledge to be gained from it will surely benefit us greatly."

He then turned to leave.

Wait…

"…Was what Sieg said true?" I asked. "About improving the Gorge?"

"Well, yes…" He replied. "He's improved escape routes for dome collapses, expanded our trade deal with the Salmonids, and is working on plans for a permanent power solution…"

"And I should…kill him?" I was feeling…hesitant?

"You get to live, don't you?" He asked. "I'll run this place fine. Nothing to worry about. Just get rid of that hideous weed on my life..."

He then left the office.

 **Two Hours Later…**

A Twintacle placed a food tray with Sieg's next meal on the desk.

As he left, he looked at me as if he almost felt pity.

…

I stood up and walked over to the desk, opening the bottle.

Okay, Cass…you can do this…

Just…poison him…

My hands started shaking.

My breathing sped up.

I was thinking of...their faces…

Oh Octo, not again…not now!

You're freezing up again over him?!

Come on, Cass! Screw the Gorge! It's your survival at stake!

You ruined his life once…you can end it…

End it…

Just…

Just…

End it!

…

I walked over to the corner and slumped down…

I couldn't do it…

I just threw the bottle in a nearby trash can…

Why…?

Why couldn't I just…kill him…?

The door then opened…Sieg came in.

He was walking slowly towards his desk. I could see his hands were shaking. I couldn't read his face due to his goggles…

He stopped, leaning on his desk. He quickly downed the drink and dropped the cup. It rolled onto the floor as he had his head lowered.

It…sounded like he was crying, but I couldn't see any tears…

I slowly tried making my way towards the door.

He immediately stopped, seemingly composing himself.

He turned to face me.

I stopped.

"…Y-you're going to kill me now, aren't you?" I guessed.

"…No…" He replied. "I won't."

My eyes widened.

"Cassandra, you may leave for now." He told me. "Come back when I call you."

I quickly got up and scrambled out of the room.

I'm not going to die…

Well, I'm not going to die…for now…

A few minutes of walking later and I found something odd…

There were some staff around Traeger's office, carrying him out on a stretcher.

"What happened?" I asked an Octocommander.

"Not sure." He said. "Eye-witnesses said he was excited to get into some old server, but after a few minutes, he started freaking out. He called for help was screaming 'Deep Sea, Deep Sea' before he collapsed. We're taking him to the infirmary. He still has some organic parts, so we should be able to keep him alive, but it's like his mind's just…gone."

Geez…well, that's what you get!

I have a feeling I should feel sorry for you, but I don't…

I just can't.

I'm sure someone does, but not me.

Wait…if this happened not too long ago…and if I had poisoned Sieg…

Oh Cod…

Man, I dodged an Inkstrike on that one…

 **Ten Minutes Later…**

I decided to look around the settlement.

I noticed there were a lot less people in hypnoshades since I last left.

The market was…wait, we have a market again? We're selling things other than CDs and celebrity merchandise?

I looked around the place.

There were more kinds of personal items, not just celebrity stuff, some people were selling different types of weapons, and-

"Fruit?!" I picked one up. "When did we get this?!"

"Salmonids brought it in." The Octotrooper at the counter answered. "You not from here?"

"I just came back…" I replied.

"Well, we got some more things to trade." She explained. "The Salmonids found out spices can make their food taste better, so we're trading wasabi, as well as these herbs that grow on the surface."

We're going to the surface now?

"We also started mining for some resources more." She continued. "We've forged more Sardinium and we're supplying the Salmonids with more metal for their pots and pans."

"And in return, we're getting power eggs AND food?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, a higher number of power eggs, food, some spices, knickknacks from the surface, Salmonid-made music, as well as some more manpower." She told me.

"So we're going to be fighting alongside Salmonids?" I tilted my head.

"…In a way…" She didn't explain.

"What do you mean?" I was confused now.

"You'll see…" She smiled. "Well, I'm just glad I can try out one of those old pre-war Octarian recipes."

Wow…

"Can…can I try that fuzzy fruit?" I pointed to it.

"If you have the credits for it." She shrugged.

I bought it and took a bite.

…I didn't like it…

But I can say I tried it…

"Cassandra, please report back to the Commander's office." The Announcer said. "Cassandra, to the Commander's office."

 **Fifteen Minutes Later…**

Well…moment of truth…

I went in and took a seat.

Sieg was sitting in silence, then he looked at me. He got up and walked in front of me.

"Would you like a job, Cassandra?" He asked.

"W-what kind of job?" I was hesitant to find out.

"My personal squad needs a captain." He told me. "You have a reasonable amount of wit and, from your records in the Valley, can work in very small groups. I-"

"Yes!" I agreed.

"…Well, good..." He said, seemingly unsure about this. "Your promotion ceremony will be in two days."

Promotion ceremony?

Wait…his personal squad…that means…

"S-so I'll be an Elite?!" I shot up from the chair.

"Yes." He answered. "You'll be on my personal squad, away from the recruits."

"Th-thanks, Sieg!" I found myself throwing my arms around him.

He immediately shoved me back.

"Don't…touch me!" He shouted before composing himself. "I give you this position…but know this…"

He got close.

"If I find out you've been abusing my soldiers…" He sounded completely serious. "…And I will not hesitate…to snap your neck…is that clear?"

"Y-yes, Sieg…" I agreed. "I-I'll try to keep myself under control."

"I understand it'll be difficult for you." He said, backing away. "I'll overlook you shoving someone out of the way if you're upset or smacking them when they 'sass' you, but I won't tolerate your old behaviors returning in full force."

"R-right…" I nodded my head.

"You may leave now." He told me. "I suggest you get to know your future squadmates soon."

"And they are…?" I was curious.

"Well, Elise for one…" He explained "There's also our spy who's currently on a mission in Inkopolis. Then there's Lenore, but I'm considering replacing her…"

Wait...

Elise…the doctor's kid?

And we have a spy now?

Man, I need to catch up…

Oh well…

I nodded and headed out of the office.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

 **Later…Infirmary**

I was curious though…Traeger just seemed to stop working, so I decided to look for myself.

He was hooked up to the usual medical equipment. It was weird…he must've replaced his lungs or something since he wasn't breathing, yet was somehow still alive.

I then heard footsteps.

"Is he here, Doctor?" Asked an Octoling girl in a…kimono?

"Yes, Miss Julia." The doctor told her. "We have him hooked up right here."

"Oh, my poor brother…" She went over to him. "…Can I have a few moments alone with him?"

"Sure." The doctor replied.

She doctor then shooed everyone else out of the room.

…I decided to go into the next room, shift forms, and hop in the vent.

Something was off about her…I started listening.

"…Yan…" I heard Julia speak. "I won't lie…I've hated you since the moment you were born…you disgusting, crippled, diseased, pathetic, parasite…your very birth almost killed mother, you know. No wonder she sent you off. Come on, you must've known I was the favorite..."

Geez, this family is screwed up…

"But I'm not here to insult you, little Yannie…" She said. "I'm going to do the one good thing I ever did for you…"

I then heard a yanking sound, followed by one long beep.

"…And put you out of your misery." She finished. "Goodbye Yan…"

I then crawled out of the vent and went back into the hallway. I could see Julia walking over to the doctor with the fakest tears I've ever seen.

"What happened?" The doctor asked.

"I-I had to…" She sniffled. "It was all I could do for him. He would've wanted it this way…

Wow…she's a cold bitch…a horrible liar though…

She then walked my way. I gave her a knowing look while she just turned her nose up at me.

Oveconfident, narcissistic, two-faced, and...yup…likely in denial of more than a few things about herself.

Well, Yan Traeger's dead…

…

I'm gonna get a drink.

 **Two Days Later…**

I showed up to Auditorium 4. It was a ceremony of a few people becoming Elites. I got in line behind the other to-be Elites.

There was a decent amount of people there. Much more than the wimpy ceremony Traeger gave me. As the line was put onto the stage, I could recognize some of the people in the audience. Some were recruits I've trained, surprised to see me there, Elise was in the audience as well as some striped Octoling next to her…I think I've seen him before…oh, Merisse was here too. Must've heard about my promotion, and next to her was…Allen?! Huh…I called him Allen…he was next to Angela, who kept eyeing him, as well as three little not fully formed Octolings…must be their kids…okay, I'll admit they made some adorable kids…and I feel the urge to pinch their cheeks.

Soon enough, Sieg showed up on stage, gave a grandiose speech about the Gorge, the army, and the new Elites. He soon started announcing the names of the new Elites and they'd go to him, get their new gear and black hair dye, and return to the line. They'd each get applause from the crowd.

When it was my turn, I got applause, but most of the people looked hesitant to do so. Probably knew me. Elise did a happy clap though, as did her pale, striped friend. Allen gave me casual applause, Angela kept eyeing him while giving applause, their kids must've thought it was a clapping contest or something since they were jumping around and clapping. Merisse, with a blank face, gave me a thumbs up.

I returned to the line.

"Now, by the powers invested in me as your Sector Commander," Sieg said. "I give all these Octolings Elite status."

The crowd applauded again and the line of Elites was led into the next room.

"You may apply your dye and seaweed now." An Octotrooper told us.

We did as he said…wow…black hair…it's beautiful…and the kelp…I look so cool…

"Must be your dream come true, huh Cass?" One now-Elite asked me. "You always talked about being an Elite…"

"Well, I'm glad someone finally gave me what I deserve." I managed to keep my composure.

We then left the room, now official Elites.

I was then stopped by Elise.

"Now that you're on our squad, let me show you to your room." She said.

"Room?" My eyes widened.

"Of course!" She nodded. "Member of a Commander's personal squad is one of the highest Elite positions."

Woah…

She led me to the room. Like all rooms I've seen down here, it was kind of small, but it was still a lot bigger than the pods…

"I-I need a minute…" I told her.

"Oh, okay." She closed the door.

I sank to my knees.

I started feeling my hair…rubbing the kelp…

"I…I did it…" I started crying. "Ha…hahaha…I finally did it…"

This…this…is the best day of my life…

 **Ten Minutes Later…**

I exited the room, Elise was…kind enough, I guess…to wait.

"Well, I'll guide you around the Gorge." She said. "A lot's changed since you left and I'll help you get adjusted."

"Sounds good to me." I crossed my arms.

"Oh, it's grand!" She told me. "There's the market, the new courses, the mines, the recreational areas, the Salmonlings, the-"

"Salmonlings, what?" I was confused by that term.

"Oh, you'll love them!" She assured me. "They're fairly rowdy, but you'll get used to them! They're simply a medical miracle!"

"Um...right…" I was a bit hesitant.

 **Age 23**

 _ **Lord Octavio has returned to us and he's requesting troops. I'm sending you to Octo Canyon to assist in his newest plan.**_

 **Which is…?**

 _ **The same as the last one…with a bonus though…**_

 **Alright…just a warning though…I go against the agents again, I can't guarantee I'll be on my best behavior.**

 _ **I don't care if you harm an Inkling…especially an agent. All I'm asking is that you don't embarrass us in the Gorge too much.**_

 **Will I be getting assistance?**

 _ **Elise is working on a project and our spy is still in Inkopolis. Sharp is on a mission, but will be available soon should you need him.**_

 **…**

 **…Right,** _ **I'll send him straight to you when he gets back…**_

 **Alright, I won't let you down.**

 _ **You better not...for your sake…**_

 **Er…r-right…**

 **…**

Man, this sucks…guarding the Zapfish is soooo boring when there's no action…

Well, at least it's quiet…and these hypnotized troops don't sass.

I wonder if I could get another position if I caught an agent though…it'd be better than Sieg constantly breathing down my neck…

"Hey, Captaaain!" A voice called out. "Splatoon's here."

"Really?" I got up. "You sure, Joanne?"

"Of course, hon." The Elite smirked as she adjusted her shades. "And I've got a brand new brush!"

"And I've got my dualies." I said as I pulled them out. "Let's see who it is…"

We swam over in the pre-laid ink to the bridge and saw a tan, yellow-haired Inkling with red eyes in a neon yellow Jacket splat two soldiers.

"Recognize her?" Joanne asked.

"No..." I replied as the Agent grabbed the Zapfish. "She's new…"

"Nice moves!" Joanne shouted out.

The Agent looked up at us.

"Thanks!" The Agent responded. "Be honest, is this really your army's best? Because I've seen better fighters in my best Turf War matches."

"Not even close, hon." Joanne smirked. "How about I give you a taste?"

She then immediately jumped off and did a splashdown.

Hm…let's see…

The agent's cocky, that's for sure…

She's definitely skilled, but less experienced. Joanne has her completely on the ropes…

She's out of her element with that Splattershot thing. She even mentioned a desire for a brush during their fight…

She's also young and I doubt she knows about me yet…

 ***Splat***

Joanne's ghost flew off into the distance.

The agent barely managed to splat her.

Oh, I've got an idea…

An awful idea...

A wonderfully, awful idea...

When the agent got up and looked at me, I just smirked and walked off.

Oh yeah…I have a plan for you, runt…

 **Cassandra's story continues in: An Inkling's Adventure!**

 **Author's Note: Thanks all of you for following this angst-filled adventure! It was a rough road for her, but Cass's adventure ended on a somewhat happy note. Of course, her story continues past this, as most of you know, but it was fun writing the backstory for her. It was a wild ride and I hope you enjoyed reading it, and my feel free to read my other works too! I wish you all well and have a nice weekend!**


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